Love In The Dark
by heroherondaletotherescue
Summary: Kira Marsden, talented in both the art of healing and espionage, is a fighter of the Resistance. She does her duty, like everyone else, but when it comes to the duty of the heart, will she accept her feelings for the charismatic pilot, Poe Dameron, or will she push it all away, in the fear that if she falls, there won't be anyone to catch her? Disclaimer inside. Pairing: POE/OC
1. You What!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or any reference to the franchise. The only thing I own are my OC characters, and creative genius.

Love in the Dark

The lush green forest that stood before her, was to put it simply, breathtaking. She admired the thick canopy of trees, the long lean lines of the leaves that hung off, musing to herself that the trees were so tall they could pass as giants. She took her time enjoying the scene, memorising every curve, every rock, every crevice, and every droplet of water. She had been gone for a while, and to her embarrassment, the beauty and tranquillity of D'Qar had faded from her memory. She had missed the familiar sight as soon as she had stepped foot on the blistering cold planet of Hoth. She had never been to Hoth before, and she was not accustomed to the constant onslaught of harsh snow and the insanity that followed, not to mention the below freezing temperatures that left her numb for most of her stay, leaving her desperate to return home.

Being stuck on Hoth for the last 13 weeks, and in isolation was enough to drive anybody crazy, especially Kira Marsden, who had an immense dislike for the cold now that she had visited the icy planet. She would have rather been stuck on Tatooine if need be, much preferring the sand, and heat that surrounded the planet, in comparison to the frozen landscape of Hoth.

Kira had many talents. One of them being that she had a particular affinity for the art of espionage. For someone who had started off as a medic working for the Resistance, someone with healing hands, a gentle touch, it came to everyone's surprise when they had witnessed her accuracy with a blaster, and her love of spying. Her role was one of confusion to most, but to her, she was put wherever she was needed most, especially when they were running low on staff. In this case, General Leia Organa was desperate to send someone on a reconnaissance mission to Hoth to gather information, and Kira was perfect for the job considering her flexibility, and the fact that they weren't understaffed in the med bay. Kira was no stranger to the ways of a reconnaissance spy for the Resistance. She had partaken in many missions with long stays, on uncomfortable planets, and usually without a partner or back-up if necessary. Being accustomed to this, she wasn't afraid to go in most of the time, but after a while, the loneliness started to settle in, and that's when she would start to feel paranoid. She was at least glad that she had her droid B1-89 to keep her company. It was a small astromech droid that her step-brother had made for her before he passed away. She had never used another droid since, even though B1-89 tended to have a lot of faults with his programming and on the regular. It reminded her of what was left of her small family and she didn't want to let go of it, insisting that he just need a paint job, seeing as though the gold and blue vertical stripes were starting to wear away. But regardless of past experiences, Kira found that she had been more restless than usual on this mission. It had been her longest one yet. She knew- in detail- of the dangers that lingered on Hoth before she accepted the mission, and at this time there wasn't an ounce of fear trailing through her blood, since she knew that the planet had was barely inhabited. But regardless of these facts, she did admit to having plenty of restless nights, haunted by wailing sounds, and at times, even her own unconsciousness. Ones where she wouldn't get a drop of sleep as her eyes stayed open, in the fear that a Wampa would come tearing through the night, and rip her to pieces, leaving chunks of her fleshy body parts in the snow as it devoured her. At least that's what her brain had come up with while she slept, making sure to freak her out. She hadn't been scared of the Wampa, having faced far deadlier, and more frightening forces in the past, but when Poe Dameron, the smartass pilot with charisma and a great smile, had told her a horrific tale of a Wampa attack on _the_ Luke Skywalker that he had overheard from General Organa, Kira was sure that she wouldn't forget it. She promised herself that when she got back, she would get payback for all the sleepless nights, and the twitching at the sound of noises that echoed through the glacier she hid out in. But the sleepless nights made her focus on the task at hand, her investigation. She was instructed to follow the patterns of workers and traders of The First Order, and thus the low profile, otherwise she would have swapped the ice caves for a small room at the empty echo base within a heartbeat.

The General had a hunch that The First Order had a small trading outpost hidden on the frozen planet, for the hopes that its undesirable nature would prevent many travellers from wandering through and discovering their secret base. Kira's mission was to confirm this, and bring back any data that she could regarding the situation. What sort of deals were made, with whom and when, thus why she was stationed there for so long. She had discovered that The First Order was trading with pirates, and bounty hunters, exchanging weapons, fuel materials, and even information on the Republic, and any known whereabouts of Resistance officers and bases. It was mainly managed by a few Stormtroopers, as far as she could tell. She had seen a few pirates known for their allegiance to The First Order, come every few days, for the last 13 weeks, a common pattern. When she had decided to move in further to the base, to infiltrate and gather information that she couldn't from afar, she had bumped into something that she shouldn't have. They had built a factory within the ice glaciers. There were thousands, if not more Stormtroopers working to create weapons. From guns, to explosives, to machinery, it was just too much for her to take in. The mass creation sent shivers down her spine. To think that each one of these weapons would be used to take a life, whether that be an innocent bystander, a civilian of a planet the First Order was colonising, or even one of her fellow resistance officers or pilots, she knew that she had to do something, regardless of her orders. She couldn't let them get away with all the pain and misery they had caused. She thought of all the lives that she would save if she destroyed the base, the lives that could have been saved if things like this were taken care of properly. Her step-brother's life.

She knew that if she had left that day, the likelihood of her having another chance to get in, would be very low. She had a few small chargers of explosives in her pack. If she distributed them logically around the plant, she could damage the structure and integrity of the factory, enough so that the icy layer that it was built inside would collapse, destroying the factory, and what looked like to be one of their main weapons factories. She had tried to contact D'Qar to get the advice of the council, even though she was sure that she would have carried out with the task regardless, but it had been a stormy day, and the atmospheric pressure along with other variables, prevented her from getting a signal. She had to make the decision then and there, and she had decided that it needed to be destroyed, otherwise the resistance stood no chance, and people like her step-brother Tayil stood no chance. As she took a closer glance, her eyes widened in realisation as she looked upon the thousands of workers. She knew she had to act fast, and so she did what she knew best. Espionage. She had sabotaged the whole facility, and had managed to make it out of the planet's atmosphere in time to jump into hyperspace without being tracked by any First Order vessels, considering that they were all busy with the uproar she had caused on the ground.

Now she was back on D'Qar, awaiting a face to face meeting with the higher-ups, which probably just meant the General, ready to face the consequences.

 _Well_ , she hoped that there were none, but this was General Leia Organa they were talking about. She was a very _just_ leader, and Kira knew that she hadn't complied with her agreement, and she had disobeyed the rules. It called for some form of disciplinary action. Though, there was still a sliver of hope inside Kira that the General would be a bit more lenient once she had heard the full story, and realised the victory that had come out of this mission, the lives that had been saved.

Kira shook her head of all her worries, taking in a deep breath and savouring the fresh scent of pine and salt water. There was nothing like home. Even though D'Qar hadn't been her home world, after spending the last five years working here, building her rank up in the resistance, she knew that she would always find this place home. She had heartily missed D'Qar and she was glad to be back. She had remembered smiling the whole flight home as she input the co-ordinates for the resistance base, ready to head back to the Ileenium system. Even her trusty droid, B1-89 had beeped, reiterating the pleasant thought of returning home. The poor thing had also suffered with the cold, finding that his systems kept freezing up, or maybe it was the fact that he was just getting old, and was in need of some dire repairs and upgrades. Though Kira wasn't great with mechanics and engineering, she had friends who were beyond talented in the field, and who would be more than happy to do it for her. But there was just something about the vintage droid that her step-brother had given her that she didn't want to change…not one bit. She smiled to herself as she thought of her brother, looking up to the sky, and making a prayer for him, a single tear trailing down her cheek as she thought of him.

She wondered after her debriefing with General Organa that afternoon, if she would be going on missions in the near future. She missed her friends, her colleagues, even a certain pilot who had a tendency to constantly tease her. But even though her life was crazy, shuffling from one place to another, always in a state of fight or flight, she wouldn't trade it for the world. It was certainly better than being stuck in the world of politics that her step-parents bustled in.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a repetitive beep. She looked down at her pager that was glowing red and picked it up, pressing down a button and responding.

"Sergeant Marsden, reporting for duty, copy," Her stiff voice came through the comm.

"The General is ready to see you, over and out." The monotone voice spoke. Someone had gotten droids back onto comm. duty, and Marsden didn't have a particular like for it.

"Copy that." And with that Kira left the beauty that she was relaxing in, for the Generals office, hoping the debrief would go down as planned, and she wouldn't get suspended for what she had done on Hoth. Then again, who hadn't broken a few rules every now and then?

* * *

"You did what?!" General Leia Organa was known for her calm exterior, but when it came to certain individuals, such as Kira Marsden, she was known for blowing out a little more than steam when they spoke to each other about anything other than their personal lives.

"I blew up their base," Kira repeated meekly. Judging by the look on the General's face, she was in a lot of trouble. _So much for wishful thinking._

"What is it about the word 'reconnaissance' that confuses you?" General Organa asked, her hands placed on her hips.

"They weren't just using it as a trading post for arms deals with pirates. They were mass producing weapons and machinery that I haven't even seen before. I did us a favour by getting rid of it. I had to make a decision in that moment, and I decided that I would fight for our cause," Kira tried to justify her actions. She noticed that the General's expression softened the slightest, but as soon as it had appeared evident on her face, it had disappeared, her stoic expression replacing it.

"Regardless, you were one person. You could have gotten hurt, or worse, killed," General Organa berated. Leia pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She knew that deep down Kira had done what anyone else would have. Fought for the resistance, nearly gave up their life in sacrifice for their cause. But she couldn't lose one of their best spies, let alone another member that was talented in more than one area. But most of all, they couldn't lose another member of their family. It was happening far too frequently, and Leia was trying to do her best to keep her fighters safe, but a war always came with causalities, something she was familiar with, but that didn't make it easier the next time it happened.

"And if I died it would have been for our cause. For the resistance," Kira stated simply. She knew that with this job, she could die at any time. It was like that for everyone. But they all knew the risks when they signed up, and she had come to terms with it a long time ago. "I did it for all the innocent people out there in the galaxy that are being terrorised by The First Order. For people like Tayil."

"Kira," General Organa's voice softened as she heard the girl mention her deceased brother.

"It won't happen again," Kira promised, clenching her jaw as she looked down. "I promise."

"Of course it won't. You're not going on anywhere. You're suspended until further notice," General Organa informed, causing Kira's head to shoot back up, staring at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Kira gasped. "What do you mean suspended?"

"No more off-world missions until I deem you fit enough to follow instructions, you're going to be back at the med-bay, putting those skills of yours to use. You've had enough adventure and excitement to last you a lifetime," General Organa said and Kira felt like she was being told off like a little child, punished for acting out.

"But-," Kira was cut off by General Organa.

"It's been decided. The Admiral and the rest of the council came to this judgement," She informed her. "I think a little bit of time on base will do you well."

"Fine," Kira exhaled deeply, seeing as there was no other option.

"Take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow you're expected to be working."

"Understood, General."

* * *

Seeing as though Kira had the rest of the day off, she thought she would go around to catch up with a few of her friends. Possibly pop by Joe's workbench down in mechanics, maybe bribe him into fixing up a few loose wires in B1-89, or hunt down her roommate Jessika who she dearly missed. All of her other friends that were pretty much all fighter pilots, having met them through Jessika. She guessed she had a thing for them. _Well_ , one in particular, but that was a story for another time.

She was just rounding the corner of a long, dimly lit, hallway, heading down to the mess hall, where she assumed most of them would be, when she ran into something. Or more like, it bumped into her.

"BB-8," Kira exclaimed, a smile spreading out on her face as she saw the orange and white droid. BB-8 beeped, saying hello, claiming that he was surprised to see her back from her mission. No one on the base had heard that she had arrived yet.

"Well, if it isn't Sergeant Kira Marsden," a familiar voice drawled. She didn't even have to look up to know that Poe Dameron was standing before her. It had been 13 weeks since they had seen each other. 13 weeks since she had laid eyes on him. 13 weeks since she had heard his voice. 13 weeks since her roommate Jessika had teased her about finding him attractive, and it had been 13 weeks since she had denied it. But there was one thing she knew as soon as she looked up, her gaze landing on his face. She was completely, and utterly wrong.

"Is it? I thought she wasn't supposed to be back for another month at the very least," Kira jested, her smile growing even wider. Poe didn't waste a second in moving forward, weaving his arms around her as he held her close, her feet slightly lifted of the ground for a mere second. Kira nearly gasped at the unexpected contact, but bit her lip, containing her excitement. She relaxed into the hug, letting her eyes flutter closed as she rested her head in the crook of his neck as he embraced her. One thing she knew for sure, after 13 weeks of being isolated, she positively missed physical contact. Whether it be a hug, a caress, a kiss. Though she knew that the latter would be the last thing that Poe Dameron would think about giving her.

"Well, a little birdy told me that she had cut down her mission, and then also landed herself a suspension," Poe said, his eyes shut as well as he enjoyed the moment. He felt like he had been on edge for the last three months, constantly worrying for her safety. He made sure to pop by the General every now and then, asking for updates on the mission, on her whereabouts, her status. Each and every time he could feel the anxiety bubble up in his throat, and then dissipate as quickly as it had started in the first place when he heard that she was fine. He wasn't willing to admit to himself just yet, let alone her, but he was starting to care for the spy from Naboo.

"I just came out of that meeting, how the hell could you know that, Poe Dameron?" Kira asked, moving back and crossing her arms. The forest green jumpsuit that she was wearing was half tied around her waist, and as she crossed her arms, her grey tee emphasised the light muscles in her arms, something Poe found incredibly attractive. He shook his head lightly of those thoughts and focused on her question.

"That's Commander to you," Poe said with a wink, taking a step forward.

"Ah, I see. Pulled rank with one of the newbies, and they told you everything they overheard."

"Of course I did. I came running as soon as I heard you landed," He said, sending a smile her way. Her heart leapt in her chest at his honesty, and she tried her very best not to let it be quite obvious on her face.

"I'm flattered," Kira said, her brown eyes glinting in the light, a vision that Poe knew he would cherish.

"Don't be. BB-8 just wanted to see B1-89. He missed his friend," Poe teased.

"Well B1-89 missed him too, a lot in fact," Kira's gaze softened as she spoke, hoping that he would get her meaning without her having to make it explicitly clear. She wasn't exactly the bravest person when it came to emotions like that, at least to the people that mattered the most. She was scared of rejection, and with Poe's naturally charismatic personality, she honestly couldn't tell if he genuinely liked her as much as she liked him. So she reverted back to what she always did, stay secretive, and stay safe.

"I have a feeling were not talking about droids anymore," Poe suddenly said aloud, catching her off guard. She hadn't expected him to say it out loud, he had never done so before, so her reaction was just.

"B1-89 is in the charging bay, BB-8. I'm sure you know the way," Kira replied, avoiding his statement as she looked down at the droid that was standing next to its master. BB-8 beeped, getting the hint and rolled down the hallway, in excitement, leaving the two alone. It was surprisingly quiet in the area considering it wasn't a busy day in terms of business.

"So what department will you grace with your presence whilst your on suspension?" Poe asked, Kira walked next to him side by side down the hallway leading to the mess hall. She was eager to catch up with the rest of their gang, including Cora, Branson and Jessika.

"Med bay. I'll be of more use there than anywhere else," Kira said. "I kind of miss it actually."

"Makes sense. How are you taking the news so far?" Poe asked.

"I knew that I was probably going to get in trouble for blowing up a First Order Base, I just didn't realise it would be this serious," Kira admitted. Various officers had done similar things in the past, acting off instinct rather than from a political view, or orders even, and had gotten away with it. She wondered what made this different.

"What?!" Poe exclaimed in shock, stopping in the middle of his tracks. He had not expected those words to fall off her lips.

"I thought you knew!" Kira turned to him in surprise. Evidently the newbie working outside of the Generals office hadn't heard all details of her escapades, only the current punishment she was serving-as she liked to put it.

"I didn't know that you blew up an enemy base, and singlehandedly at that," Poe said shaking his head in disbelief. She had brought him speechless once again. As he stared at her face, admiring her soft features, looking into her dark brown eyes, he realised that there was still so much to her that he didn't know. "How did you manage that?" He asked.

"It's a long story," Kira exhaled. "How about we grab some food with the others, and I'll be happy to divulge all my secrets." _Well, not all of them, at least not to the likes of you_ she thought to herself, trying her very best not to acknowledge the way he was looking at her right now.

"Lead the way, Sergeant."

 **A/N:**

 **Pairing: Poe Dameron x Kira Marsden (OC) – This is my first time writing for Star Wars, please forgive me for any discrepancies in terms of canon. Yes, it follows certain aspects of 'The Force Awakens', but I have changed certain things, such as extending the timeline, and adding in my own characters, and scenes, so I guess you could say that everything else is AU.**

 **Mainly a romance/hurt-comfort/humour fic. Not major plot development, meant to be for light entertainment...**

 **Apologies for any grammar/punctuation mistakes. I don't have a beta, and this was written in my free time, therefore, if I have missed something, please let me know, so I can fix it up. Any advice, or comments are much appreciated. Looking forward to your reviews.**

 **This story will consist of around 9 chapters. I've already written most of it, just working on the last chapter. It's just a small short story that I wanted to share with you all. Hope that you enjoy it. Would love to hear your thoughts.**

 **Heroherondale.**


	2. Day dreaming

CHAPTER TWO

Laughter, a sound that hadn't graced Kira's ears for quite some time had accompanied her all night.

She had spent the next few hours gorging over some fresh fruit that Cora had brought back from a mission to Yavin 4, a nice swap for the rations she had been living off for the past 3 and a bit months. The vast difference in atmosphere was a nice change as well. She had caught up with all of her friends and colleagues, filling them in the details of the mission that she was allowed to divulge, having to bite her tongue at times as she tried not to give away too much information, in the fear that it would land her in even more trouble with the Resistance council. The mess hall had been filled with laughter, tears and smiles all round as everyone caught up, enjoying the moment of peace in their bustling lives.

It wasn't long until someone came running, with news of an emergency, or officers being called for summoning by their superiors. They all made their separate ways, Jessika and Kira moving out together back to their room. Poe hugged Kira goodbye as they left, promising that he would find her later, wanting to hear more of her tales on Hoth. She had returned the hug promptly, noticing Jessika's eyes on her, and had told him that he wouldn't be getting any stories because of the nightmares he had given her, causing him to let out a roar of laughter before throwing her a quick wink, jogging off backwards as he made his way back to his pilots in training, to finish off their current debriefing.

Now in the peaceful and relaxing confines of their room, Jessika had informed Kira of their recent travels to Jakku where Poe and herself, and another new pilot that she hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, had travelled there to scout out the area after the General disclosed that she may have an informant on the planet, an old friend of hers from the Empire days. Jessika had actually been the one to teach Kira how to fly an X-Wing. Kira was better versed in A-Wing, even Y-Wing ships, and had trouble grasping some of the different techniques and mechanics of the X-Wings that were prominently used by the Resistance. They had been friends for a long time, but they first started off as roommates, both of them having just joined the fight at the same time. It was certainly refreshing, and both of them felt like they weren't alone in the new world that they had just dived head first into.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Jessika asked as she turned over in her bed, looking across the room to see Kira laying on her back, one hand propped up underneath her head as she looked at the roof, fiddling with the necklace that sat on her chest.

"Mmm. You were talking about your mission to Jakku. Sounds like it was a success," Kira hummed, as she tried to pretend like she was paying attention. In reality she was day dreaming. Dreaming of what life would be like without this constant threat of war, the threat of the dark-side. She wondered if she would have turned out the same. Would her biological mother still be alive? Would she have learned the name of her biological father? Would she have grown up on another world rather than Naboo where her step-parents were stationed at for their political affairs? She then realised if these things hadn't happened, that she wouldn't have made it to the Resistance, she wouldn't have met these amazing people, and she would have never met Poe Dameron.

Jessika knew Kira well enough to know when she wasn't paying attention, and this was clearly one of those moments. She watched Kira for a moment, examining her posture, her facial expressions, and she could tell in an instant what she was thinking. She was thinking about her family again. She kept playing with that necklace, the last remaining tie to her biological mother. She felt sorrow seep into her chest as she watched her friend's solemn face. She, like most knew that Kira had been adopted. Her mother had died during childbirth, which had surprised Kira, when she learnt of all the struggles and the war that she had survived through. Her mother was force-sensitive, but like General Leia, neither had become Jedi. They had heard tales from General Leia who had known her in the past, of how she had been an amazing pilot, fighting for their cause. She had barely turned seventeen, but she had volunteered, wielding her ship as a weapon to fight alongside the Rebellion, helping to destroy the Death Star so that people would no longer have to suffer. No one was sure if Kira was force-sensitive, but judging by the tales they had heard, and how being force-sensitive was more than just being able to wield a light saber, and a stronger power, Jessika had a hunch that Kira was indeed a part of that category. Her friend was so empathetic, and it was those feelings, her personality, and her soul that made her special. If it was true or not, it would sure explain a lot in terms of Kira being able to control her emotions. The girl was stuck on a never ending rollercoaster when it came to confronting her feelings. But regardless, Jessika knew that Kira held onto those memories, those stories more than anything… well not as much as that necklace. Jessika had never seen her take it off. It was a constant reminder of her bloodline, of her family, and Jessika new that it was what pushed Kira forward, what made her want to join the Resistance in the first place, rather than jump about the Republic and engage in politics that rarely resolved any issues, and instead caused more suffering.

"What are you thinking about?" Jessika asked, even though she was sure she knew the answer.

"What life would be like if there was peace? If there was no need for a Resistance? Would we be the same people we are today? Would we have met each other?" Kira mused.

"I'd like to think that we would have been friends in another life," Jessika replied as she rolled over on her bed, sporting a similar position to Kira as she stared up at the roof.

"Me too," Kira said. "I'm kind of glad that I'm suspended."

"Really?" Jessika questioned with a raised brow. "Why is that?"

"I think it made me realise that there's more to my life than fighting. That I have a family here, people who I care about. I'm glad that I'll be able to stay on base a bit longer. I think it's time I took a break from my extensive travelling," Kira confessed, stretching her arms above her, sighing, and slouching further into the comfort of her bed when she felt her muscles relax.

"Sounds good, but I hope that doesn't mean you're going to be too grounded. Your flying skills aren't all that bad. We could use you on the team," Jessika supplied. They had lost a lot of great pilots in the last month, and they were working overtime to compensate until they could build up their workforce.

"As much as I love flying, I don't think I'm cut out for that. I'm better as a foot soldier, or a medic," Kira said. Before she had discovered that she had a knack for sneaking around, and wielding a blaster with a precision she had not known previously, she had been a medic, helping others in a more healing manner rather than shooting and asking questions later.

"Dameron would disagree. He said you had some pretty good flight techniques. With a little bit more tweaking, you could be just as good. Plus, flying is in your blood."

"Dameron says a lot of things, and they don't always make sense," Kira laughed, trying to brush off the comment. Hearing that he had said that about her, sent her heart fluttering inside her chest.

"You like him, don't you?" Jessika asked, leaning over the edge of her bed, watching her friend in anticipation. She had asked this same question, more subtly a while back, but Kira had brushed it off with an ease that made her jealous. She was good at hiding her emotions. But after knowing her for so long, she liked to think that she could see through her.

"Of course. He's a great friend," Kira said nonchalantly, trying to push her feelings for him into a hole in the back of her mind. She knew that they would be nothing more than friends, and she had to keep it that way before she couldn't anymore.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Jess, nothing's gonna happen between us. So there's no point in discussing it."

"I didn't mean to upset you-," Jess began, but Kira cut her off.

"It's alright," Kira replied swiftly.

"It's okay to have feelings you know. Not everyone you love is going to leave you," Jessika said, knowing that Kira needed to hear those words. Kira sighed, hiding her face with the arm that she had thrown over it. "Poe really cares about you," Jessika continued and Kira threw a pillow at her face playfully.

"Stop with the teasing," Kira said. "He doesn't like me."

"How can you be so blind? Practically everyone can see the way he looks at you," Jessika said. It was true. They had all picked up on it. The way he moved when he saw Kira near, or the way that his face lit up at the mention of her very name. They all knew that Poe Dameron was head over heels for Kira Marsden, but she happened to be the one person that didn't see it.

"Yeah, and I saw the way that he looked at Karen Lougha."

"That was months ago, Kira, and you know that he only has eyes for you," Jessika tried to convince her.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Jess. Goodnight," Kira said stiffly, turning over to face the wall now that she was in a sour mood. Even though Jessika had said it countless of times, she knew that she couldn't believe those words. Yes, she knew that Poe cared for her, but only as a friend and nothing more. He had made that obvious when she had seen him flirting with Karen a few months ago, and she had known then that he would never see her that way. She wasn't worthy of his affections… and she needed to drill it in her head otherwise she would end up with a broken heart, and a broken friendship. She couldn't deal with loosing anyone again, and so she shut herself off from the notion.

"Night," Jessika mumbled, frowning at her friend as she turned the light off. She had a similar conversation with Poe a few weeks ago. If only the two of them knew, if only they were honest with each other. They were honestly both fooling themselves. But Jessika knew not to push things. If it was going to happen, it would be on their own terms. She sighed, snuggling under her covers and closing her eyes, sleeping better that she had her friend beside her, knowing that she was safe, and that she was home.

 **A/N –**

 **This chapter was shorter than the first, but I found that it fit the best to stop it here. The next chapter will be longer. Glad that you guys are enjoying it so far. I'll probably be updating this story every few days...**

 **Thank you** _ **Lyanna Arwen Narsilia, Solstarset, TabloidTeen, am123456, Anyrandomday, WishIHadALife and Deserah for the favourites and follows.**_

 **And a big thanks to the guest reviewer and Deserah, glad that you are enjoying it so far, hope that you enjoy this chapter as well.**

 **Til next time.**

 **Heroherondale**


	3. Chaos

CHAPTER THREE

Kira had forgotten how strenuous life as a medic was. Not having actively participated in the role for quite some time, she had found that the long hours, the stressful workload, and the traumatic sights before her eyes were taking a toll on her. Being back here, with the crazed mix of the increasing war, and rising casualties, she found that even on a slow day, they were suffering with their lack of medical staff.

She had spent hours that morning, alongside a surgeon, trying to fix up one of their workers who had managed to jam his hand into the side of a machine as he was trying to repair it. He had lost his left hand, and they were doing their best to sort out the problem. Seeing the bloody torn flesh, hanging off his arm alone were traumatising, and she couldn't even begin to fathom the agony he had been in. It had then been decided that they would put him in a bacta tank, allowing the him to rest and heal more effectively, after the surgery that morning.

She found that she would finish her shift, head to the mess hall in the early hours of the morning to salvage what food she could before she would head back to her room where she would collapse on her bed, exhausted from her days work. Plus with the added fact that she hadn't properly seen her friends in at least a week. Jessika and Kira's schedules were completely opposite, and Kira was lucky to steal a hello from her friend during the night when they both happened to be in their room at the same time.

Kira found herself missing her friends. She had managed to catch up with Joe, who was also working late, due to the incredible amount of works the mechanics were pressured with. Joe happened to be both an engineer and a mechanic, so when it came to cases of repairing X-Wings and ships alike, he and a spare few of their team were burdened with the work, the others unable to help them.

After chatting with Joe about this, noticing how run down and ridden with malaise he seemed to be, she told him that she would put in a word with the General.

After speaking with Leia, she had discovered that they were already in the process of looking for more mechanics, and were organising a transport for one to arrive in a months' time. The General made it clear that they wouldn't have one sooner, apologising for the delay. Kira made it clear that it was no problem, after all, they were fighting a war, and things never came easy. They would just have to hang on for another month before more help arrived.

* * *

 _3 weeks later_

Chaos.

That was the word that Poe Dameron would use to describe the situation.

They had been set on an easy fight pattern, just leaving the Outer Rim territories and entering the Hosnian system to pick up a new mechanic that to join their task force with the Resistance. The mission seemed simple enough. They were understaffed, having lost many to the war and they were struggling to keep up with the demands on base. It was vital that they recruited more workers, and fast. The First Order seemed to be growing by the day, stealing children and conditioning them to be Stormtroopers from a young age. It was hard to keep up when the enemy seemed to never run out of troops.

Poe, Jessika and Branson had all volunteered for the quick journey to Hosnian Prime to pick up the new team member. Branson was actually the only one to meet their newest member, whilst Poe and Jessika were meeting with an ex-first order member, who was willing to supply the resistance with information in regards to the inner workings of their cause.

This information was of course, highly confidential, and information on a need to know basis. The only people who had knowledge of the side-mission were the three pilots, a few members of the General Organa's closest members of leadership.

Branson had completed his job with ease. He had picked up the mechanic and they had just left the Hosnian system, heading back to D'Qar, as per his orders. Poe and Jessika on the other hand were suffering, having been pulled into a fire fight with bounty hunters, most likely working with the First Order. Before they had even reached the meeting point that was set between them, and a man named Ker Lin, they were ambushed. They saw in the distance, the limp body of what appeared to be Ker Lin, the First Order having already taken care of their informant.

From that point on, chaos had erupted. It grew and spread, like a flame on a rampage, burning everything in its path, leaving the two pilots with barely any room to breathe as they struggled to flee the scene.

Poe and Jessika had managed to take down a few of the enemy with their small blasters, but they were outnumbered, and outgunned. They knew they had to retreat to make it out of there alive, as it was obvious they were shooting to kill, not capture.

"We gotta move, and fast, otherwise we're toast," Poe yelled out at Jessika over all the chaos, hoping that she would hear him amid all the loud, explosive shots. She nodded from a distance, motioning her head for him to move first, and she would cover his back before following. He sent a quick nod her way, moving and firing at the same time.

Jessika fired away, shooting as fast as she could before following in Poe's footsteps. They were in a full run by this point, metres away from their ship when a bounty hunter that had been on their tail, leaping from building to building, had fired a shot from above, hitting Jessika square in the back, leaving her sprawled on the ground, her head smashing against the harsh concrete and sending her into a pool of darkness.

Poe had reacted faster than he realised, firing at the unnamed masked bounty hunter, hitting his mark as he watched the man collapse from the building ledge he had been standing on. Poe quickly threw his gun back into its holster, lifting Jessika up into his arms with a struggle as her dead weight collapsed onto him. His usual calm exterior was beginning to break down as reality started to set in. He quickly got her settled in her seat, not having time to check on her bleeding wound as he instructed BB-8 to plot their course for D'Qar, jumping into hyperspace before anything else could go wrong. He put the controls on auto-pilot, BB-8 watching things for him as he moved to tend to Jessika. He tried to remember the basic first aid that Kira had taught him all those years ago. He grabbed what bandages he could find in the small box under the panel of the controls, applying pressure to her wound, and checking her pulse. Their estimated arrival on D'Qar was at least thirty minutes, in hyperspace, even with them going at the fastest speed. Poe desperately looked over at Jessika praying that she would be able to hold on for that long. He kept pressure her wound, hoping that it would stop the bleeding until they arrived, but as he looked at the swollen skin, and the blood oozing from it at a rapid rate, he knew that it wasn't just a minor flesh wound. It was bad, and he felt the guilt trickle down his throat, tightening his airways as he replayed the situation in his head. If only he had looked up, and focused a bit more, he would have seen the person on their tail, he could have stopped this from happening.

BB-8 watched Poe, noticing the look on his face, the droid knew what Poe was thinking and sent out a series of beeps, telling Poe that it wasn't his fault.

"I know buddy, I know," Poe replied to the droid, his eyes drawn to the clock that indicated they were still a good twenty minutes out.

"You're gonna be alright, Jess. Just hang on," Poe whispered as he looked down at his team mate, his friend, and prayed that she would be fine. He had instructed BB-8 to send a message to HQ, requesting an immediate med-team upon landing, informing them of Jessika's condition. All he could do now was sit with her, and wait for their arrival.

* * *

Kira had been doing her rounds, but it had generally been a slow morning. She was thankful, as it gave her a chance to relax after the stressful onslaught of work they had been burdened with over the past month. It also meant that meant that less people were hurt, which was always a good thing, but she grew bored as she watched the day pass by, with nothing to do. She had already finished her morning rounds, giving the patients their medication, re-dressing bandages on wounds that seemed to be healing at their own rate. She had even moved into the other wing of their make-shift hospital on base, where all of their patients going through rehabilitation were stationed. She spent a few hours dedicated to aiding a woman by the name of Alira with her physical rehabilitation. She had learned that Alira had been involved in an undercover drug trade in the last few weeks, trying to intercept weapons that were also being secretly traded with the enemy, but at the last minute their mission had blown up in their faces. Literally. The whole star-base they had been on had exploded into flames once they were caught out. She had been the team leader on the mission, and most of her team was gone, but she and a spare few others had managed to make it out. In the process, Alira had broken her left leg, and fractured her right ankle, and was now in recuperation, slowly learning how to walk again. But the woman who was just a few years younger than Kira was also suffering with PTSD that had slowly started to settle in just after she had arrived back from the traumatic events. Kira spent a few hours sitting with her, just listening to Alira talk, who was thankful for having someone to just vent to, finding it was quite therapeutic.

It was nearing the afternoon, and Kira was ready to finish her shift when there was an emergency call, and since was the highest ranking officer in the room at the time, it meant that she would be in charge. She looked around to see that she was in fact, the most qualified in the room. Most of the others were nurses, or medics still in training. Most of the doctors were busy, unless surgery needed to be completed. Otherwise Kira was well versed enough in healing to be able to handle any other situations. She grabbed her emergency kit, calling a few others as they jumped on a med-evac truck and sped down to the landing bay where the party would be awaiting them shortly. She wasn't sure who was injured, but she had a bad feeling in her gut, and it wouldn't go away.

Upon arrival, she saw a frantic Poe, pulling out an unconscious Jessika from the X-Wing that they had flown off with that very morning. Kira's heart pounded in her chest as she realised the full situation. She jumped into action immediately, helping Poe rest Jessika's body on a gurney as they rolled her back onto the truck.

"What happened?" Kira asked Poe as she examined Jessika's condition. Her fingers were touching Jessika's cold wrist, as she counted, and waited to feel the thump of her blood pumping through her veins. Jessika's heart rate was low, and as Kira did a quick manual BP as they were on the move, she found that it was sitting at a dangerous measurement of 70/45. She had lost too much blood.

"Ambushed. She took a hit to the back, has been unconscious ever since," Poe managed to rush out. He was slightly puffed out, feeling drained of energy as the adrenaline slowly dissipated out of his system.

"She's going to be alright," Kira said, giving Poe a reassuring glance before they burst through the doors of the med bay.

"Someone prep a bacta tank now," Kira called out, and it wasn't long later til Jessika's body was resting in the bacta filled tank, now leaving it to the thick, gelatinous slime to heal her burns. Kira had managed to get a look at them before they put her in. Whatever blaster was used to hit her, had sent burns from the target spot all down and up her spine, spreading like wildfire. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. She knew that the bacta's healing properties would mend her skin back together, rebuilding the layers of burnt flesh more effectively than a bacta bandage would have, considering the damage done. Kira monitored her vitals for a second longer, relieved to see that her heart rate and blood pressure were returning within the normal range.

"You're gonna be okay, Jess," Kira whispered as she watched Jessika's face through the glass of the bacta tank. She had handed Jessika over to a nurse that was on duty, before moving to check out Poe.

"How is she?" Poe asked, standing up from his seat. Kira noticed the frown on his face, and she couldn't help but match it with one of her own. They had lost a lot of people in this war, good friends, and she wasn't ready to lose Jessika now… or ever.

"As good as she can be. The bacta tank should heal her within the next day, and she'll be rested up within the week."

"That's good to hear," Poe breathed out. He felt more relaxed now that he knew that Jessika would be alright.

"Are you alright?" Kira asked, placing a hand on Poe's shoulder, his gaze now meeting her own. He nodded slowly, trying to convince her otherwise, but she noticed the small wince of pain in his expression as he did so. "You're hurt," She stated simply, her eyes trailing over him in concern, sending his heart fluttering inside his chest, a feeling that he now commonly associated with her presence, or even just the thought of her. "Where?" She asked, her eyes meeting his.

"It's nothing," Poe said, trying to play it off, but he could feel the wound stinging with every movement he made.

"Poe, we've done all we can for Jess. We just have to let her heal and rest on her own. Now where are you hurt?" Kira pushed, urging him to be honest with her. He melted at her expression, and wasn't able to mask his pain any longer.

"My back, just under my right shoulder blade. Caught onto a piece of metal during our escape. I think I tore the skin there," He explained.

"Let me take a look," Kira said, and he followed her into a smaller room, setting him down on the bed while she grabbed her equipment.

"Is this the part where you ask me to take of my shirt?" Poe said with a sly grin, as Kira turned back around with one hand gloved. She glared at him, tilting her head to the side, trying to hide the fact that she had a warm fuzzy feeling spreading throughout her belly, and a smile threatening to appear on her lips.

"Really, Poe?"

"Sorry Ri," Poe teased, lifting the bottom of his shirt at a dangerously slow rate, before pulling it up and over his head. He had taken off the suit he was wearing before, and was left in a plain black tee and trousers, with boots to match- well, just the trousers and boots at this point.

As soon as he did so, Kira had clenched her jaw, unable to avert her eyes as they trailed over his toned chest. She quickly asked him to turn around so she could see his back, and frowned when she saw the harsh red lines. The laceration was shallow enough to not warrant stiches, but it needed to be cleaned, and covered with a bandage to prevent infection and promote healing. Carefully she brought up the antiseptic wipe, and swiped the swollen area that stretched from the middle of his back, to the edge of his shoulder blade, cleaning the sticky and congealed blood off the area. Poe clearly didn't expect it to sting that much, and had straightened up, tensing the muscles in his back as he did so.

"Sorry," Kira whispered sheepishly. She had meant to tell him that it might sting, but she was a bit distracted due to their close proximity. "I should have warned you."

"It's alright," Poe said, closing his eyes, trying to relax as she mended his back.

"Nearly done," Kira said as she applied some bacta gel, and then sealed the bandage on top. "Good as new." Kira reached out, brushing the bandage out smoothly, her hands trailing down to the middle of his back before she realised what she was doing. She pulled back her hand as though she had been burned, her cheeks a light pink as she tried to rid her thoughts of his muscled body. She had found that lately she was slipping, and she knew that it would be so easy to fall for him, but it would take everything in her to put back the pieces of her heart if things went sideways.

"Thanks," Poe said, turning around, trying to play it off as well, even though he could feel the electricity between them as her warm fingertips trailed down the smooth skin of his back.

"Y-you can put your shirt back on now," Kira said, gulping as she turned around, throwing her glove into the bin, and tidying up as she pretended to be busy. First Jessika got hurt, and now this… she wasn't able to deal with all the chaotic emotions inside of her at this point.

"Make sure to get some rest. Take two of these tonight, and two in the morning, and you should be good as new," Kira informed Poe, passing the medication over to him in a little container, her hand brushing his lightly, a spark travelling up her hand as their fingers touched.

"I'm sorry," Poe said softly, her eyes moving from his hand to his face in an instant.

"What are you sorry for?" She asked with a light frown.

"Jessika got hurt, it was on my watch-," Poe began, but Kira cut him off with a stern look, knowing where he was going with this.

"It's not your fault. These things happen. You got her back in one-piece… she'll heal on her own time. But she's going to be fine. Don't beat yourself up Poe. I'm just glad that you're both okay," Kira said, placing her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

"I just wish it had been me inst-"

"Don't, you dare finish that sentence," Kira snapped, glaring at him, pulling her hand away from his. She understood where he was coming from, but how could he say that he wished it was him who was unconscious and injured? She was already upset that Jessika had been injured so badly, but to put Poe's guilt on top was too much. Regardless of the outcome, had either of them gotten hurt, she knew that she would feel the same way. "Don't talk like that, _please_." At her last word, his thoughts flickered back to her past with losing those close to her, and he regretted his words, even though he knew that he was just trying to comfort her, and explain that he hadn't wanted Jessika to get hurt in the first place.

"Kira," Poe sighed, reaching out to take her hand again, but she shoved him off, taking a step back.

"Don't forget to take your medication," Kira said in a stiff voice, turning and walking out of the room, unable to deal with her emotions for him right now, leaving a guilt ridden Poe behind. Ever since Tayil had been killed, she wasn't great at working with her emotions, and she struggled to open up with those close to her, finding it especially difficult when it came to Poe, knowing that she was utterly in love with him, and there wasn't a thing she could do to change the fact that it wasn't going to happen.

She rid those thoughts from her mind as she paced through Jessika's room, checking up on her every few minutes. Knowing that she would just have to let Jessika heal on her own, she asked Amara, the nurse who was working the night shift to let her know if Jessika's condition changed, before heading back to her room.

She tossed and turned all night, not getting an ounce of sleep as she played over the scenario in her head, of her argument with Poe, and her friend's unstable condition. Her mind eventually collapsed into a deep slumber, trying to come up for air as it drowned in her thoughts.

 **A / N – Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes... I am without a beta, and editing this with tired eyes.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, and the follows! I was surprised to see this many after the second chapter. Its super exciting to see you guys enjoying the story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so please review, whether long or short, it's always welcomed.**

 **Special thanks to** _ **LittleMissRainbow, StarWarsHarryPotterfangirl2788, mishka2184, EstellaCrane, FeeldaForce, LittleTinyBlondie, OceanxEyes, BevinKB, LieNina, PrincessOfTheUniverse001, 1GreenEyes and taurielles for the favourites and follows.**_

 **Replies:**

 **Deserah: Glad that you enjoyed the second chapter, hope you like this one. It's got a bit more drama and oomph than the last chapter.**

 **Xyz: I made this especially longer just for you. ;) Excited that you're liking the story so far. But also, keep in mind that it's going to be a short story. It won't be more than 25k when it's all finished.**

 **1GreenEyes: I hope that you enjoyed this one as well! Oh, ask away, I love answering any questions that I can, but hopefully as time goes on, the chapters will also answer them for you.**

 **Til next time.**

 **Heroherondale.**


	4. Good Luck

CHAPTER FOUR

 _2 weeks later_

Jessika was well recovered by this point, and had gotten back into her daily routine. She had been surprised when she woke up, not expecting to be in the infirmary, and with such lethargy plaguing her. She wasn't sure of what had happened and was glad that her friends were there to help her through it all. She only recalled fragments of the events that had transpired. She remembered running as her and Poe tried to flee Hosnian Prime, and then it was all darkness after that, slowly morphing into a bliss as she healed in the bacta tank. But the days following her awakening and release from the bacta tank had left her tired and groggy for the rest of the week, and she was glad that she was feeling back to normal… or as well as she could. The light scar that marred her back, was a reminder of what had happened, but it was barely noticeable, and for that she was thankful.

When she had returned back to her room, released from the med-bay, the team had thrown her a welcome back party. She had gone through a tough time, there were some complications with her healing process, and even though the skin on her back had healed and repaired itself, she still struggled with phantom pain, and was only now getting over it, when it should have taken only a few days maximum. It had been Poe's idea to throw her a welcome back party, and so he had organised it with a few other pilots from their team. It was just a small gathering, with some friends, and some booze that they had managed to smuggle out of hiding.

Kira had hugged her so tight that day and Jessika was sure that she was going to pass out. Instead of teasing her, Jessika, hugged back, knowing that if their roles had been reversed she would have felt the same way. Jessika noticed that Poe and Kira had been actively distant from each other, the whole duration of the party, when usually they were as thick as thieves. She had asked Kira that night as they headed back to their room, and Kira had shook her head, giving her a smile and assuring her that it wasn't the case, claiming that they just didn't happen to speak to each other that night. Jessika knew that Kira was hiding something from her, but didn't push it.

When she woke up the next morning, Jessika noticed that Kira wasn't in her bed. She shot up frantically, looking around for her pager, as she sent a message to Kira. Kira had responded that she was about to head into a meeting and would be back soon, sending a sliver of relief rushing through Jessika.

She knew that Kira had past tendencies to ignore her feelings and confrontation of emotions by escaping. She had done it a few years back, leaving D'Qar because she couldn't handle the pain, of losing her step-brother Tayil, she hadn't returned for four weeks, and to this day she hadn't told a soul where she had disappeared off to. All they knew that was when she came back she had been more closed off, but she had come to terms with the fact that her Tayil was gone, and so no one had questioned her further. Thus, Jessika was weary of Kira's skittish behaviour as of late, hoping that whatever was going on between her and Poe would be resolved soon, for all of their sakes.

* * *

Kira was waiting impatiently in General Organa's office, tapping her foot against the floor as she sat in her chair. She had a long list of things she needed to get done in the med-bay today, one of them being an inventory check. They were starting to run low on supplies, and she needed to gather a list of all the equipment and supplies that they were in desperate need of, so that they could organise a shipment to be sent through via the republic. The problem there being was that it had to come through a lot of back channels in order to keep the shipment hidden from prying eyes. Leia had informed Kira that she had a quick call to make, and would be back soon. She had quickly mentioned that she was also expecting someone else to join the meeting. But, as usual, the General was too busy to give specifics as she rushed around. So there Kira sat, waiting for said General, and the mysterious person who would be joining this meeting.

Would she be taken off suspension? It had been just over two months, and she hadn't been off world in a while. Yes, she loved healing and helping people, but there was a part of her that craved adventure and the distraction that it offered. There was also a part of her that was angry, and that wanted the action, wanted the blood pumping through her veins, wanted the violence. It scared her, these thoughts of darkness, but she just needed a distraction, and if that is what it would give her, then she would take it.

Kira's tapping stopped as she heard the door slide open, and footsteps to follow. She thought that it was just the General, but when she turned around she saw that Poe had accompanied her. As soon as their eyes met, she couldn't tell if she saw annoyance or regret. They hadn't spoke for a good few weeks, and she was beginning to feel restless. She missed him. She missed his warm embraces, the way he smiled good morning from across the hall before they moved their own way, but most of all the company.

"Mr. Dameron, Ms. Marsden. I have a mission for you both," General Leia spoke as she sat down in her chair, across from the two youngsters.

"My suspension is over?" Kira asked, leaning forward with relief.

"It is. But, due to your actions back on Hoth, it has been decided that on this recon mission, that you be accompanied by a pilot. Poe has been chosen for this task," Leia informed, and both Poe and Kira looked at each other with uncertainty before looking back to her. "You two may choose to negotiate the tasks, but the main operative is simple."

"Um, General, what exactly is this mission?" Poe asked with a nervous tone. It made Kira feel a bit better knowing that he was nervous about the situation presented to them as well.

"This mission is confidential. It is of the utmost importance that you keep this between yourselves. I have an old friend of the resistance, Lor San Tekka, who is currently hiding out on Jakku. He has credible information that could lead to completing a map to find my brother. I need you two, to go and retrieve this," Leia said. She trusted both Kira and Poe to get the job done, and she knew that their dedication to this cause would lead them to be successful.

"When do we leave?" Kira asked. Leia was proud to see her take such initiative, knowing that these two were the right choice for the mission.

"Tonight," Leia stated.

"Tonight?" Kira questioned.

"The sooner you leave, the less chance, The First Order has of getting there before us. We can't let the map get into their hands, otherwise all hope will be lost."

"You can trust us to get the job done, General Organa," Poe reassured her, giving her a nod. Kira couldn't help but let out a small smile, as she spared a quick glance over at Poe. He had always treated the General with such admiration and respect, that it was heart-warming to see the two interact.

"You'll be taking the same X-Wing that you took to Hosnian Prime, and you'll be flying together. We can't afford to draw attention by having two separate ships."

"BB-8 will have to come with us, B1-89 is undergoing repairs and updates that won't be done until the morning," Kira said. B1-89 actually would have been fine to fly in time, but she knew that Poe flew better with his droid, and she felt bad about their fight, so this was her way of compensating. But she knew that eventually they would have to have a proper discussion and work out what had gone wrong. She shouldn't have flipped so much. She was just on edge from what had happened with Jessika, and then his words had triggered the memory of her Tayil's death and she couldn't cope…so her first reaction was to jump into defensive mode.

"Agreed. You won't be needing your usual uniform. Wear dark clothes, try to blend in. Good luck, I trust you both to see this through, " Leia said with a tone of finality and both nodded before leaving the room after she dismissed them.

Kira was fast in her movements and had made it out first, but Poe was just as equally stealthy as herself. His rough yet gentle hands had latched onto her wrist, as he pulled her into the sideway of a hall, and they both stared at each other silent for a moment, his hand still on her wrist, spending sparks up her arm. It felt like eternity before he spoke.

"I'm sorry," Poe started out softly, trying to gather his courage, but he was so focused on her solemn expression and her eyes. "I shouldn't have said what I did. I just felt-"

"Guilty," Kira finished for him. "I know. I'm sorry too, for how I reacted," Kira said, looking down feeling ashamed at her behaviour. She didn't have the best track record with emotions, but being a grown woman, she could at least have a better handle on being polite when the situation presented itself. "I shouldn't have been so angry."

"Hey, it's alright. You're forgiven," Poe whispered, lifting her chin up with his fingers, the feeling of his skin touching her own, simply…electric.

"You're forgiven too, you know," Kira said shyly, noticing the close distance between them. She tried her very best to keep her eyes focused on his own, but the longer they stood there, the more she was drawn to him, and she found herself unconsciously leaning closer.

"Seal it with a kiss?" Poe asked cheekily, and she punched him in the shoulder playfully, before bringing him into a hug. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, finding comfort in it. He always smelled like home, and that was something that she loved. She wished that she was more impulsive when it came to her emotions, maybe she would have kissed him then and there… she knew that she wanted to, and she caught herself glancing at his soft, supple lips when he uttered those words, but she kept telling herself that it was just him teasing her, that he didn't really want her to do that.

"I'm glad we sorted this out before our mission tonight," Poe whispered into her hair, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Why is that?" She asked, her arms still wrapped around his neck, fighting the urge to run her fingers through his soft dark hair.

"Because I don't do awkward silences as you know, and that would have been a painfully long flight."

"Is that the only reason?" Kira teased.

"No, it's not. I missed you," He said, catching her off guard. They pulled apart from their hug, and she gave him a small smile.

"I missed you too."

"We better get going, prep for tonight," Poe said, breaking their eye contact and she nodded, slipping her hands into the pocket of her green jumpsuit.

"I'll meet you at the landing bay." Poe nodded, and they went their separate ways, but Poe's eyes lingered on her form as she walked down the opposite side of the room. He promised himself that when they got back from this mission, he was going to tell her. He was going to tell her that he was completely and utterly in love with her.

* * *

Poe had ensured that the conversation they had on the flight to Jakku was kept light, and funny. He knew that they were heading into a possible trap, should the enemy catch whiff of their plans, and he could tell that Kira was nervous. He wasn't sure why though, considering she had done things like this equally or more than himself. Nonetheless he had done his best to make her smile, cracking a few jokes, catching the sound of her laughter, and forging it to his memory.

Just as they were about to exit hyperspace and enter Jakku's atmosphere, Kira made sure to go over the plan with Poe, one last time. He would be meeting Lor San Tekka in private, to retrieve the data, whilst she would stand guard directly outside, and BB-8 would watch from a distance. He had volunteered, but she felt more comfortable with a blaster in hand, watching the perimeter.

Their plan was simple. Get in, retrieve the data, and get out. But this still didn't set Kira's nerves at ease for some reason. She never felt this way on missions before, but she had a gut feeling that something would go wrong… that someone was coming.

"Be careful," Kira said to Poe, as his hands found her waist, helping her down from the X-Wing. Her boots landed on the sand with ease, but the slippery surface, had her gripping onto Poe's biceps to keep her balance.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Poe asked with a wink, his eyes flickering between her eyes and her lips.

"Just-," She huffed and he cut her off.

"Be careful, got it. You too," Poe said, moving over and swiftly planting a quick kiss on her cheek, causing a blush to rapidly spread across her cheeks.

"W-what was that for?" She asked, stumbling with her words as Poe started to walk away.

"Good luck," Poe yelled back, with a wink before he left Kira with BB-8 to scout the perimeter while he made his way to meet Lor San Tekka.

Kira stood there, watching him walk away into the sandy distance, trying to calm her heart rate as she replayed the moment over in her head. BB-8 sent out a string of binary, telling Kira to stop blushing and start moving.

"Alright, BB-Sassy," Kira teased, pulling out her binoculars as she moved around stealthily in the background, scouting the perimeter with BB-8 as they made sure that they were alone.

Once she was happy that they were alone- apart from the native people of Jakku-, Kira made her way down to the tent that Lor San Tekka and Poe were conversing in, leaving BB-8 to watch the outer perimeter.

She stood there, her eyes like a hawk as she kept her eyes trained on the distance. She noted a few suspicious looks from the villagers as they walked by, noticing the blaster attached to her hip and the unusual clothing she wore. She had taken General's advice and worn her personal clothes instead of her usual resistance fighter uniform. She donned a brown leather jacket, with a thin dark blue singlet underneath, paired with dark black pants and boots. She had been to Jakku once before in her life, and noticed the difference between the weather at night, and the day. The cool breeze that came through, lifting up the sand as it flowed was much more welcomed than the heat that plagued the desert planet during the daytime.

She felt it before she saw it. It was like a power that she had never felt before. She felt drawn to it, as though it was calling out to her, pleading for her to come towards it. She picked up the binoculars around her neck, looking through them and out into the midnight sky above to see The First Order ships descending. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, but she could feel it… she somehow knew that they were coming… that danger was on the way.

A moment later, BB-8 came rolling in, beeping that they weren't alone anymore, and Kira nodded swiftly, informing the astromech that she had also witnessed the same thing. There were at least a hundred Stormtroopers ready to arrive, if not more, judging by the number and size of the ships that the enemy had arrived in. She turned around hastily, barging through the cloth that closed the tent, looking at the two men who were startled by her sudden and abrupt appearance.

"We've got company," Kira said, keeping it short. Poe stood up immediately, pocketing the small device that contained the map, and turned to look at Lor San Tekka.

"We need to hide," Poe said, jumping into action immediately.

"You must leave, both of you," Lor San Tekka urged.

"It's not safe here anymore, you must come with us, they've come for you," Kira informed the elder. He simply shook his head. He was far too old to run any longer. If he died today, then it would be, because his final days had come.

"Remember, without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the force," Lor San Tekka said, his eyes trained on Kira. She was unsure of why it sounded like he had directed his words to her, but she ignored it, not having time to divulge further into his mysterious words. They were about to be hunted, and they needed to move.

"Hide," Poe said to the older man, and he nodded as he watched the two young partners leave, praying that the force would aid them in their battle to escape Jakku.

Kira and Poe ran side by side as fast as they could on the sand as they headed in the direction of his X-Wing. The TIE-fighters had already landed, depositing the Stormtroopers one by one. Kira heard the screams of villagers in the distance as they were attacked by the soldiers in white, and she felt guilty for every cry for help they heard, for every wail of pain, all of their emotions were bursting in her head and she couldn't seem to control it. She didn't know what was happening, all she knew was that they had to keep moving.

Poe's hand was tight in her own as they ran faster, jumping into the X-Wing, BB-8 taking his place. Just as Poe was getting the flight controls ready, Kira grabbed control of the weapons systems, firing away at the Stormtroopers she could see that were closing in. Evidently she hadn't seen the one that was stationed further back, who seemed to have control over a larger blaster. He had fired before Kira could realise what was happening, and it sent their engine into flames.

Poe cursed as he jumped out of the X-Wing with Kira behind him, taking out his own blaster and firing away at the Stormtroopers that seemed to be coming at them like no tomorrow.

"I'll cover you, check out the engine," Kira yelled over the gunfire, as she continued to attack.

"It's unsalvageable right now, we need to run," Poe said, and he ducked down on the other side of the X-Wing, Kira following when she had hit the last Stormtrooper in the area.

"BB-8, you need to take this, it's safer with you," Poe said, placing the map inside a compartment of the astromech. "You need to run. Keep it safe. I'll come back for you," Poe instructed the droid, urging it to leave and get somewhere safe. BB-8 reluctantly left, looking back to see Poe and Kira standing there before he sped off into the uncharted terrain of Jakku.

"You should go with him. There's no way that we'll both make it out of this," Poe said, placing his hand on Kira's face. "One of us needs to get that map away safely."

"What are you talking about? There's no way that we're splitting up," Kira replied sternly, taking his hand in her own and dragging him away from the damaged X-Wing and towards a hiding place. "Come on, we need to be quiet."

They both crouched behind a large rock, watching carefully and silently as Kylo Ren stepped off his ship in all his darkness and glory. His long black cape whipped around in the wind as he stalked forward, towards Lor San Tekka who had been brought to stand in front of the dark warrior by two Stormtroopers.

"Kira, you should go," Poe whispered softly.

"I'm not leaving you. We're in this together Poe," Kira stated with a proud fire in her eyes. She would never leave her partner on a mission, let alone her friend. They were in this together.

 _God, I love you_ He thought to himself, his brown eyes meeting her gaze.

"Whatever happens, we can't tell them about the map," Poe said to her, and she nodded, understanding his meaning. If they had to sacrifice their lives for the secrets hidden inside BB-8 they would.

"You know what I've come for," Kylo Ren spoke, his flat disembodied voice threatening the elderly man before him. Kira could feel the darkness roll off him in waves, sending a shiver down her spine.

"I know where you come from, before you called yourself Kylo Ren," Lor San Tekka spoke, deflecting Kylo's question. He had given up so much in his life already, and if it was his time to sacrifice his own future for the wellbeing of the galaxy, then he would do so without hesitation.

"The map to Skywalker. We know you found it, and now you're going to give it to The First Order," Kylo Ren said, gripping his lightsaber in hand, igniting the red blade. Tekka was dragged before Kylo Ren, the dark warrior's form tall and intimidating as he stood on his knees. Lor San Tekka refused, shaking his head in disdain.

"I will not give it to you."

This was obviously not the answer that Kylo Ren wanted. He moved forward in one swift motion, impaling Lor San Tekka with his saber violently, murdering the man before their eyes.

Poe reacted instinctively, firing his blaster at the man in black, only to have Kylo Ren tilt his head slightly, catching the blast of energy mid-air using the force, sending a rush of fear through Kira.

Their cover had been blown and it wasn't even seconds later that they were both brought to their knees in front of the man in black. Poe looked at Kira, but her eyes were frozen on the man in front of her. That same feeling she had felt before, she felt now as she stared up at Kylo Ren, and it scared her to death.

"So…who talks first? I talk first, you talk first?" Poe asked, breaking the silence, and Kira's trance, as she looked over at him with wide eyes.

Kylo Ren looked down on Poe, before turning his attention to Kira.

"What is your name?"

Kira remained silent, not speaking. Kylo then raised his hand, probing into her mind, sending her head pain as she screamed out in pain, her back arching as he used the force. Poe screamed at him to stop, struggling against the hold of the Stormtroopers that had him bound. Kylo ignored the pilot's plea, and explored the forefront of her mind, her identity revealed within a moment, but as he moved to discover further information, he was blocked. There was something in her mind preventing him from seeing more, he could feel it, and it was vibrant within her, he could feel it pumping through her veins, pulsating through her body. She was force-sensitive and she didn't even know it. This would certainly bring about more possibilities.

"Kira Marsden. Spy of the Resistance, take her on board," Kylo Ren instructed as Kira passed out, leaving Poe alone, and struggling desperately with his captors as he watched her taken away from him. His heart clenched in his chest as he watched Kira being snatched away from him, from safety, thinking to himself that it was all his fault that she was taken.

"Where is the map to Skywalker?" Kylo questioned Poe, and the pilot shook his head. Anger didn't even begin to describe how he felt right now. He knew that if he refused, it was most likely that he would be taken as a prisoner, and at least that way he would stand a chance of helping Kira and himself escape. If he spoke now, they would have no use for him, and he would endure the same fate as Lor San Tekka.

"I don't know," Poe said, tilting his head to the side tauntingly, as though he was challenging Kylo Ren to do something.

"Take him as well. He can join his friend."

 **A / N – This chapter was going to be split into two, but then I thought… What the heck, I'll just keep it as one.**

 **Only a few more chapters to go! Kind of bummed that I decided to keep this a short story, but then again, with everything I have going on, there's no way I would have been able to make it much longer.**

 **Thanks to _BevinKB, LieNina, 1GreenEyes, GVCatullus, flurryandfloat, PrincessOfTheUniverse001 and turtlethewriter for the favourites and follows._**

 **Replies:**

 **Jeneral2885: Glad that you are enjoying it so far. I really wanted to make this fic focus on Jessika and Kira's friendship as well as Poe and Kira's relationship. Hope that you liked this update.**

 **Please, leave a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Next chapter is planned for the end of this week. But the more reviews, the more motivation to get my butt moving so I can edit and fix Chapter 5 up. ;)**

 **Til next time.**

 **\- Heroherondale.**


	5. Pain

CHAPTER FIVE

In all 27 years of her life, Kira had never felt pain like this. All the injuries, torture, accidents, none of it compared to the pain that she had endured now, under the hands of Kylo Ren. At one point, she was sure that she was going to die, up here in space, but there was something inside of her that just kept pushing back, kept forcing her through the pain, kept her going.

It burned her skin, boiled her blood, and scarred her mind. Kylo Ren was ruthless in his attempts to gather the information about the final piece to locate Luke Skywalker. He wasn't about to let anything get in his way, not after all he had sacrificed to come this far, especially not a resistance fighter.

She was strapped to a table, her arms and legs bound, her head uncomfortably placed against the metal. She had begun to loose count of the hours, the days… but she was sure that she hadn't been there for more than a few. She could feel Kylo Ren enter her mind, ravaging whatever he could find… which was ironically, nothing of use to The First Order. But he had managed to catch a glimpse of her memories, depicting in detail, the extent of her actions on Hoth, and if anything it had set him off even more to learn that she was the culprit that caused them to loose such a valuable base. He was sure that once he had informed General Hux, he too would like to _interrogate_ the prisoner, and so he kept this information to himself for now, wishing to break her himself, a way of proving to Supreme Leader Snoke that he was worthy of his title, that he was a Knight of Ren, and that he could get the job done.

She had tried her best to keep her mind shielded from him, but little details slipped through, her lack of experience working against her. When Kylo had grown tired of her resistance, realising that he couldn't get through further, he had changed his tactics. He could feel the force within her, fighting her battle, resisting the dark, resisting any attempts he had at taking the information from her.

He had started to torture Poe instead.

Kylo Ren had decided to use the light in her as a weakness. Just by observing the behaviour of the two prisoners, he could tell that they had an attachment, and he knew that it wouldn't take much to break either of them if he put them together. It was a guaranteed success for him.

She thought that Poe was safe, sitting in a cell, not harmed, but Kylo Ren dragged Poe's body into the room, slamming him up against the wall with a choke hold as he used the deadly power of the force to torture not only him, but her as well. He questioned her, again and again, closing Poe's airways even tighter when she squirmed in her seat, refusing to answer. She could see Poe's lips starting to turn blue, the rest of his face tight with pressure and she knew that any longer and he wouldn't be able to breathe. When he let out an ear piercing scream, a yell, a cry for help, that's when it all went to hell.

That's when she had cracked.

But it was not as Kylo perceived how it would go.

Her anger overwhelmed the fear factor that was currently running through her veins. Her voice was venomous and loud as it bellowed, echoing throughout the room. She roared at Kylo Ren, telling him to stop, screaming her lungs out as she watched Poe slump against the wall, his eyelids hooded as he drifted in and out of unconsciousness. She wasn't sure how it happened, but as her wailing continued, Kylo Ren had eventually stopped, and was thrown off balance, stumbling backwards into the side of the wall at the power of her voice and mind. Her eyes were fierce as she glared at him, wanting him to disappear into thin air.

"You are stronger than you know, Kira Marsden. The force, is strong within you."

"I don't care," She spat at him. "I don't care what you think. Don't you _ever_ touch him again." There was a ferocity, an anger brewing in her dark eyes that she hadn't had before. Kylo noticed this, and even though he clenched his fists and left the room, he was smirking underneath his mask. He knew that if he could bring the darkness within her to the surface, she would make for a fine addition to the First Order, something Supreme Leader Snoke would be content with as well. For once, he was glad that they would be able to make use of at least one of their prisoners. He decided that once the pilot was awake, he would question him further for the whereabouts of the map, knowing that his mind would be easier to invade than the woman that accompanied him.

Before he had left the prison cell, he had flicked Kira's head, sending her vision spiralling into a void of darkness. He had also made sure that she wouldn't have been able to remember the last events of what had just happened, should she use her power to escape. He had also instructed the Stormtrooper on duty to place Poe back into the chair, as he went to converse with the Supreme Leader for advice on where to move next.

* * *

Kira awoke with a pounding headache, and a strong bout of nausea. She could tell that they were on some sort of ship, and she was in what looked like a prison cell. She was situated in a chair, her arms and legs strapped down to the machine. She pulled her arms up struggling to break free of her restraints and when she realised it was futile she stopped moving, taking in deep breaths as she tried to remember what had happened. But as she thought back, she felt as though the last thing she remembered was being captured on Jakku. But judging by the sticky blood that she could feel matted onto her skin and hair, she knew that she had been on this ship for quite some time, and she hoped that her memories would soon return to her.

Her head hurt the most. It felt like someone had been inside. As though they had rummaged through her thoughts and memories. She felt violated, unsafe. She felt… the force. She knew that her mother had been force-sensitive, but all her life, never had she ever felt it on such a grand scale. She was scared of what this meant for her, knowing that the galaxy was currently lacking in that department, but she tried not to focus on it at this present time, but her surroundings instead. _Where was Poe?_ She strained her neck to look around the room but couldn't see much at all. She gulped down her anxiety, trying not to shed tears as she felt her airways tightening in panic, and her sore body, ready to give out. She felt an ache in her chest, as she tried to figure out what had happened. She prayed that Poe was alright. She thought she was alone in the room until she heard something shift behind her- well in this case, more like someone.

It was a second later that she realised the machine she was on, had another seat, something she had noticed when she was thrown into the room the first time, the memory slowly coming back to her. She was sitting back to back with a fellow prisoner. She assumed that it must have been Poe and she was right in her guess when she uttered his name, and he responded moments later.

"Poe," She whispered, trying not to draw attention. They were in the cell alone at the moment, but there were guards outside no doubt.

"Poe, wake up," She urged, this time her voice a bit louder, rousing him from unconsciousness.

"Kira?" Poe's voice groaned and she sighed in relief knowing that he was there beside her. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't there. At least with him there, she knew that she wasn't going insane, that somehow, everything would be alright… even if they did die up here.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, mostly because her throat felt raw and dry like she hadn't had a sip of water in days… which was most likely the case.

"As alright as one can be in this situation," Poe said, trying to keep his voice optimistic. But his delivery had failed to do so and he cringed at the sound of his coarse voice.

"What happened?" Kira asked, trying to twist a bit more in her seat to even catch a glimpse of Poe.

"They took us captives. Don't you remember? They've been torturing us for the last day and a half," Poe said, rolling his head to the side to try and get a good look at her, but all he saw was a few of her unruly curls that were matted with a bit of blood, making him angry more than anything.

"What? No- I don't… I don't remember anything," Kira breathed out in disbelief. How could she forget torture of all things? Yes, she remembered some sort of sensation, but the actual memory of it happening should have been fresh in her mind, yet she found no trace of it, and somehow that scared her more than anything.

"That bastard," Poe muttered under his breath, stringing along a few curses to go with it. "He used the force on you. I'm so sorry, I got us into this mess. I promise you I'll get us out," Poe said and she didn't reply, unsure of what to say. He felt guilty the longer the silence lingered between them, and he knew that he should have forced her to flee with BB-8, at least that way she would have been safe, and his droid would have been protected, and delivered back to the Resistance with their mission complete.

"He didn't use it on you did he?" Kira asked slowly, afraid that Poe had been hurt.

"Not as much," He lied, if she didn't remember it was better that way. He didn't want to make her feel guilty for what had happened. "B-but, I couldn't, I had to tell them a-about,-" Poe struggled to form a proper sentence. Kylo had tortured Kira so much that Poe thought she was going to die right there of the pain. But she fought on, using her screams to fuel her resistance against The First Order. She had passed out shortly after, and when Poe had woken up, he had been the next to be probed. Kylo dug so deep into his mind that he created memories that weren't even there before. He had tortured Kira again in front of his eyes, killing her over and over again. He had murdered his mother, his father, everyone he had ever cared about, his friends, again and again and again until Poe's mind cracked, and the information had been available for the taking.

"It's alright," Kira said softly, wishing she could just hug him right about now.

"We'll get out of here you know," Poe said, trying to keep her hopeful. His eyes drifted around the empty cell that was clouded in darkness, barely a light on, making it hard to see. He was just glad that there were no guards inside.

"Really," She drawled. "We're on the middle of an unknown spaceship that could be located anywhere in the galaxy, with no back-up, no weapons and we're restrained," Kira said sarcastically.

"See, easy," Poe breathed out, hoping it would lighten the mood.

"I don't want to die here, Poe," Kira whispered softly, biting down on her lip to prevent the tears from slipping through her closed eyelids. She had only thought about it now. They were going to die here, on this ship, in this hell-hole. She had come to terms with the fact that she may have to sacrifice her life one day for the resistance, but she never pictured it would be like this. She thought it would be in battle, that it would be quick. But this-oh this, was slow, and painful and she couldn't handle it.

"You won't Ri, I promise you that," Poe replied, gulping as he hoped with all his might that he would be able to keep his promise. Kylo Ren was unpredictable and powerful. Two combinations that didn't sit well with Poe considering their current situation.

They sat there in silence, waiting for what would come next. Would Kylo Ren return, or would a Stormtrooper be the one to deliver the news of their execution? All these insane thoughts ran through Kira's head and she couldn't help but let out a whimper, biting the inside of her cheek to distract herself from her raging emotions. She couldn't cry, not now, she needed to stay strong, if not for herself, then for Poe. If she lost hope, then this would be the end of the line for them both.

They were going to get out of there. They just needed to have hope.

A mere second later, there was someone at their door, as though their prayers had been answered. Though at first, it didn't appear to be that way. A Stormtrooper by the name of FN-2187 walked into the room, telling the guard at the door that he had orders from above to transfer the two prisoners. Reluctantly the guard let FN-2187 collect them both, not wanting to deal with the wrath of Kylo Ren, should FN-2187 be there to collect the prisoners for him. Kira had eyed Poe cautiously as FN-2187 pulled them off the metal seats, unbinding their cuffs, and pushing them side by side, as he ushered them down the hallway. Kira's heart was pounding in her chest. Was this the end of the road for them? Were they going to die? Did they find BB-8? Did Kylo Ren manage to retrieve important information from her mind regarding the Resistance? Her mind was racing, and she was sure that if she didn't calm herself down, that she would end up hyperventilating and have a panic attack. She looked to Poe, her eyes wide with desperation and he grabbed onto her hand, holding onto her tight, his touch comforting her enough to bring her back from the edge. He was unsure of what they could do at this point to escape, considering that they were still bound, and walking down the middle of a corridor on this extremely large, and dangerously secure ship. It wasn't a moment later that the Stormtrooper FN-2187 that was escorting them, suddenly pulled them both into a hidden room on the side, closing the door enough to hide them from prying eyes and security cameras. Kira was even more startled when the Stormtrooper ripped off his mask in instance, breathing heavily and looking mortified, surprising both the rebel fighters.

FN-2817 was tall, dark-skinned and looking quite guilty at this point. It was in that moment that she recognised the smear of blood on his plastic white suit, noticing the contrast immediately. He had been the storm trooper from Jakku, right before they had rounded up all the villagers, after they slaughtered the fighters.

"What are you doing?" Kira asked incredulously, unsure of what was happening. Why was he here, why did it look like he was trying to help them?

"I'm helping you both escape. We can leave in the main hanger, there are plenty of empty TIE-fighters lined up," FN-2187 said, his words shocking them both. "We can take one and fly out of here."

"What?" Poe blurted out.

"Why'd you break us free? Why not just leave yourself?" Kira asked, and her words made Poe realise something.

"You need a pilot," Poe concluded, a grin appearing on his lips.

"No-Yeah I need a pilot," FN-2187 resigned with a sigh. He didn't know how to fly any sort of ship, let alone a TIE-fighter. He wouldn't make it very far on his own, as well as the fact that he knew it was wrong to leave these two innocent people behind.

"You've never even flown a TIE-fighter before," Kira protested, turning to Poe. How would they make it out of this alive? For the smallest second Poe was offended by her comment, but pushed it aside for the moment.

"I can fly anything," Poe stated firmly, a smirk on his face. Kira looked at him bewildered, but she felt a pang of pride in her chest as she watched him, he was keeping to his promise. He was going to get them out of there.

"We're getting out of here," Poe told Kira firmly, placing a kiss on her forehead, turning back to the Stormtrooper to ask more about the plan of escape.

"We have to move now. Just act normal," FN-2187 said, before leading the way to freedom.

* * *

They had managed to be escorted through the main hanger without too much suspicion, only a few glances here or there. They had jumped into action immediately, climbing inside the TIE-fighter and escaping with haste. As they had climbed in, Kira recognised the immediate problem.

"There are only two seats," She nearly shrieked with annoyance as she realised the fault in the TIE-fighter they had chosen. Before she was even given a chance to say anything further, Poe placed both of his hands on her waist, pulling her into his lap and strapping them in as best as he could, considering the situation.

"No time to waste." He had said, smirking behind her back, not that she knew that anyway. But it was true, they didn't have time to change to another TIE-Fighter. It was likely that others had already seen the mad dash for the ship, and the fact that two prisoners had accompanied a Stormtrooper onto it.

She flushed pink immediately, but tried to ignore their compromising position as Poe instructed her, now having to co-pilot with her considering that she was blocking most of his view of the gears. FN-2187 cracked a smile at the two as he got himself seated, taking control over the weapons system, trying to cover them as they moved to make a speedy getaway. Poe had instructed as well as he could, explaining to FN-2187 in the easiest terms of how to use the weapons systems on the craft, hoping that he would be able to cover them whilst Poe flew them out of there like no tomorrow.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kira said, letting out a low shriek as they dodged another close hit. FN-2187, adjusted his aim, holding down on the gears and releasing the fire-arm in an instant, destroying two TIE-Fighters simultaneously that had been set loose on them in a relentless attempt to re-capture the prisoners and traitor as he was now deemed.

"Did you see that? Did you SEE that?!" FN-2187 shrieked in excitement, Kira and Poe laughing along with him, bright smiles of hope written across their faces as they realised that they had a great chance of making it out alive here.

"So what's your name?" Poe asked, continuing to fly, manoeuvring to the left as they avoided the heavy fire.

"Is this really the time for a mother's meeting?" Kira questioned, quickly stretching her body to the right, twisting as she did so to reach one of the controls, dropping their ship the slightest, the blast that was coming their way, just skimming the roof off the TIE-Fighter, but leaving next to no damage. What she hadn't realised was that as she did that she basically shoved her upper body into Poe's face, and he was currently stuck, gulping as she moved back.

"Sorry," She mumbled to herself, Poe just catching the words, thinking to himself that she had nothing to be sorry about.

"FN-2187," The Stormtrooper replied, brining Poe out of his distracting thoughts.

"What?" Poe said, turning his head to look at the trooper.

"FN-2187," He repeated again, this time slightly louder.

"No, we heard, it's just… that's not a name," Kira said, her eyes darting around the space in front of them as she tried to keep an eye on what was shooting at them, and flying at them, the mess of guns and ships enough to send her head spiralling with confusion. She was never much of a pilot, at least not like her mother had been.

"It was the only name I was ever given." At his words, Kira felt a pang of empathy. He had probably been stolen from his family as a baby and indoctrinated into the Stormtrooper program. It was disgusting, and Kira was at least glad that they would all be escaping together that day. She knew in an instant that they could trust him. He was just as desperate to escape their clutches as they were, and she hoped that he would return with them to the Resistance. He would be a fine addition to their cause, especially considering that he knew the inside workings of The First Order, but mostly because he seemed like a real brave-heart, and that was something that she admired, even though she had only known him for less than half an hour. She had a good feeling about this kid, knowing that he would be something great one day. She wondered if she had gotten this feeling because of the Force. She felt something strong in the trooper, and it was different…but good.

"How about Finn?" Poe suggested, and the man turned around with glee written on his face.

"I like it," Finn stated in a loud voice, a smile sitting proudly on his lips. "Finn," He said again, his expression erupting with happiness. He had never had a name before, and it felt nice to have something that was his.

"Well, nice to meet you Finn. I'm Poe, Poe Dameron," Poe introduced himself, pulling down on a lever as he turned the ship around and back towards the planet and away from the empty space. "And this beauty is Kira Marsden." His words causing Kira to turn a shade of pink as she tried to focus on the flying, pressing buttons, controlling the speed while Poe manoeuvred the ship in and out of battle.

But before the conversation could go any further, they were distracted with the TIE-fighters that were firing at them, and the guns from the actual ship. Things were starting to get more difficult and Poe placed his hands on Kira's, guiding her as they expertly flew, dodging every blast, finding that this was easier than their previous arrangement. Finn had even managed to get in a few hits. It was then when Poe directed the ship back to the atmosphere of Jakku to retrieve BB-8 before they made their way back to the resistance base on D'Qar, that they were shot at from behind, sending their ship spiralling through Jakku's atmosphere, into the sand where they crash landed, each member inside, unconscious and separated as they were ejected from the ship just before it crashed, tumbling to the ground in flames.

* * *

 **A / N: Thank you for all favourites and follows. I am being really lazy right now, so I haven't gone through the list to add the new followers here by name, but I honestly appreciated it and love you. Promise. ;) You guys are amazing.**

 **Getting into some more juicy stuff… Hope you enjoyed all the angst, I certainly loved writing it.**

 **Replies:**

 **Mishka2184: Kylo Ren, what a punk ass bitch. (did you get the reference? If not, go watch SNL, Matt the Radar Technician, it's hilarious.) Yeah, he captured them both, and tortured them in front of each other to get them to crack, talk about dark… I think this is the last time that Kylo really appears in this story, other than his name being mentioned… hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Thebeezekneeze: By the way, I absolutely love your username, it is totally the bees knees. ;) Thanks for your review, so glad that you enjoyed chapter 4, hope you liked this just as much, hope to hear from you again!**

 **PrincessOfTheUniverse001: YUP! Force sensitive, though at the moment it isn't her top priority… hope you liked how it showed up in this episode. More about it will be explained in the future.**

 **Sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thank you for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed more of their relationship, next chapter has quite a bit of fluff between them, which I hope you guys all see. This was more angst, but you gotta have it!**

 **So, keep the reviews coming. Only a few more chapters til this story is finished!**

 **Heroherondale. X**


	6. You're Safe Now

CHAPTER SIX

The first thing Kira felt was the sun bearing down on her body, the heat leaving an uncomfortable sensation on her skin. The next thing was the sand that felt like it was stuck everywhere, seeping inside her clothes. The third, was the large hand that was caressing her cheek gently, as though it was trying to rouse her from her slumber, when instead, she felt like drifting off into a peaceful sleep as the touch comforted her, sending her thoughts drifting.

But she forced herself to wake up, needing to know where she was. It was so tempting to just collapse there, and not wake up, but a soft voice drew her into consciousness. Slowly she opened her eyes, squinting as the harsh sunlight took over her vision. Poe's face them came into view, slightly blurred, but clearing up by the second.

"Kira," Poe called out her name. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," She mumbled, trying to sit up, and that's when she realised that she couldn't move her legs. It felt like they were stuck, glued together. Panic struck her in an instant and her mind flashed back to their crash landing and she assumed the worst.

"Poe, Poe!" She yelped. "I can't move my legs, why can't I move my legs," She yelled frantically as he held her in his arms. He started to chuckle, his chest heaving up and down with laughter. This was certainly not what she expected to hear and she glared up at him, sending him daggers.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed, a fire evident in her eyes. His expression softened as he gazed down at her panicked face, and even though he was beyond tired, his body aching, and in desperate need of some water, he leaned down slightly, brushing the pad of his thumb against her check in a calming motion. "You're fine," He reassured her.

"Your legs are intact, just buried in a bit of sand is all. You had a pretty rough landing," Poe explained and he moved, shovelling off the heavy sand off her legs, and it was then that she could move them, but she noted that it was extremely painful. Her heart nearly burst inside of her chest in relief that she was able to move.

"Oh, thank god," She breathed out as he helped her sit up. She touched her legs and moved them about and he continued to laugh at her. "So I think I've lost my legs and you just laugh at me. Typical."

"Sorry, sweetheart." She rubbed her legs, noting that she had multiple bruises, and they must have been bad considering that she winced in pain just as she lightly touched them.

"Where are we?" Kira finally asked looking around.

"Just outside of the Niima Outpost," Poe said. "I'm not sure where the TIE-fighter landed, but before we crashed I sent HQ our location. They should be here within the day for extraction. We just need to hang tight," Poe explained.

"I can do that," Kira replied, leaning into him as she sat up. Even though she could move her legs she still found that it hurt. Their landing must have been very rough. "Where did you land?"

"About a mile, that way," Poe said, pointing north. He had woken up on the rough sand, alone and confused. He panicked immediately when he had no sight of Kira or Finn, but it was shortly quelled when he searched for a good hour and a half, finding her easily. He still wasn't sure what had happened to Finn, but he hoped that the boy was alright.

"Finn?" She asked and Poe shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

"What about BB-8?"

"We'll have to wait for extraction first before we can make any moves on finding BB-8," Poe said even though he hated the idea himself. But being stuck here in the middle of the dessert, with no water, no supplies and no back-up, the only thing they could do was to stay put.

"Where's your jacket?" Kira asked.

"Must still be in the TIE-fighter," Poe answered, feeling annoyed that he had taken it off. The scorching sun wasn't helping, and they needed to find some shade, and this planet certainly lacked any of that.

"Come here," She said, slipping off her leather jacket, leaving her in a singlet. She lay down on the sand, and Poe followed, plopping down next to her. She threw the jacket over their heads, providing them with enough shade for now.

"So, were just going to lay here and wait for help?" Poe asked, turning over to face her, their noses nearly touching as they tried to hide under her jacket.

"Only for a few minutes, then we should probably move, find a better place to hide," Kira said and Poe sighed, trying not to focus on the fact that their faces were so close, and how he had nearly lost her up in that space ship, and how desperate he was to just confess everything, how desperate he was to close the distance and capture her lips in a searing kiss.

"Kira," Poe started off slowly, his eyes trailing from her closed lids down to her supple lips.

"Mmm," She hummed, urging him to go on, her eyes still closed as she tried to get a few more minutes of relaxation before they had to be on the move.

"I'm glad that we didn't die up there," Poe said, as he glanced at her face, counting the freckles on splattered across her nose and cheeks, admiring the way her eyelashes framed her gorgeous honey eyes, only to be brought out of his trance when she replied a few moments later.

"Me too."

"Thanks for keeping your promise," She told him, opening her eyes to see how close he was. Her heart was pounding away and she hoped that he wouldn't notice how her eyes kept flickering down to his chapped lips.

"How long do you think til we're rescued?"

"I thought I already took care of that," Poe said with a cheeky smile.

"You know what I mean."

"Probably another few hours."

Kira sat up, slipping her jacket back on as Poe helped her stand up, and she fell into his arms upon doing so. Her legs still felt like jelly, and she was sure that it would be painful to walk far.

"You alright there?" Poe asked, and she nodded, her head firmly planted against his chest.

"Legs hurt, sorry."

"It's alright," Poe said, not minding the fact that they were so close. Kira moved back, stretching out slightly and trying to find her balance. They then continued to walk, Poe close by her side in case her body decided to just collapse then and there.

They had both lost a lot of blood, had bruised and aching bodies, and were on the verge of passing out from dehydration. They walked in silence mostly, not having the energy to speak further as they moved across the sand dunes, trying to find a relatively easy place to rest until their rescue came. They found a small spot that looked like it would be fine. It had an old starship from the Empire days that was stationary on the ground. The wreckage was a relic of the war between the Republic and the Empire. They hid inside, waiting there for any sign of their rescue team.

Hours had passed and since then Poe had fallen asleep in Kira's lap. She had draped her jacket over the top half of his body, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. She felt guilty every time she glanced at the wounds that decorated his forehead. She was sure to wake him up every now and then to make sure that he was fine. His head injury had her worried that he could easily slip into a coma if he had a concussion. She had assessed his other vitals as he slept, watching the rise and fall of his chest as she counted his respirations. She had then placed her nimble fingers against his wrist, feeling the steady thump of his pulse, finding relief when she discovered that it too was normal. What she hadn't expected next was for Poe to unconsciously meld their fingers together in his sleep, and now she was stuck with her hand in his.

She smiled lightly at his antics. Even when he was sleeping, his presence still had an incredible effect on her. Just as she too was nodding off from the heat, and lack of fluids, she heard a ship landing in the distance. She was quick to shake Poe awake, startling him from his peaceful sleep. She pressed a finger to her lips and they moved stealthily through the wreckage, looking through a hole in the hull of the ship, spotting that it was a resistance troop transporter that had arrived to their rescue.

"Thank god," Kira breathed out at the sight. "We're going home, Poe," Kira had jumped at him, wrapping him in a tight hug, and he held onto her, enjoying the moment of relief.

"Come on, I think I hear Jessika's voice," Poe said, and she threw him a bright smile before they moved out of there and headed off, thankful to finally be going home.

* * *

"It's good to have you back. But before we debrief, both of you to the med-bay, now," General Leia ordered as she saw her two fighters return from their mission. Both of them looked like they had been to hell and back. She hadn't expected anything less when she discovered that they had been taken by The First Order. She was just glad that they had managed to escape, and that the map wasn't in the hands of the enemy.

Before they moved off, Poe quickly informed the General that BB-8 had the map, and that he was still hiding somewhere on Jakku. He was about to tell her something else when Kira came up behind him, placing her hand over his mouth.

"I don't think he understands orders, General. We'll come find you once we're done in the med-bay," Kira said to the General, who had a small knowing grin on her face.

"Not a problem, Kira."

Kira had checked out, with only acute dehydration, and the small wounds inflicted on her arm, face and neck had been cleaned, and bandaged. She had asked the nurse to apply some bacta onto her bruises that marred her legs, and after that she was good to go. She moved into the other room to see Poe's wound on his head getting cleaned and sutured. She watched through the mouth of the door, as he closed his eyes, trying not to wince in pain as his wound was tended to. The nurse had finished the job, and he moved out of the room, informing Kira that Poe would be fine, and just needed to drink plenty of fluids and rest.

As she heard the worst 'rest', she knew that it was never going to happen. They still had to find BB-8 and locate the map before the enemy got their hand on it, so they had a long day ahead of themselves, one that didn't include naps or sleeping for that matter at all. She wondered if they would even be able to sleep after the torture and abuse they had gone through in the last 48 hours. Kira knew that even though she couldn't remember much, it would probably come back to her through nightmares as it had done in her past.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great now that I'm on painkillers," Poe said, causing Kira to break out into a grin.

"That's good to hear. Come on, debrief, and then we've a long day ahead of us."

* * *

The debrief went faster than Kira thought it would. But then again, General Leia was always straight to the point. Once Kira and Poe had finished recounting their story, making sure to give away only the details necessary, they were sent back to their rooms for the night to relax.

There had apparently been no sight of BB-8 on Jakku as of yet, and they were now just playing the waiting game.

Kira had looked up at Poe as they moved along down the hall way towards opposite ends, each one, heading to their rooms for the night. Kira suddenly felt anxious and sick at the thought of going to sleep. All the foul memories, aggressive touches and torture seemed to bubble up again, after having thought about it during the debrief. Kira, nor Poe, had gone into the specifics of their painful imprisonment, not ready to share those details yet, but she could see them flash across her closed eyelids when she tried to lay down that night to gather some rest.

She had tossed and turned for hours, suddenly finding it too hot in the room… too suffocating. Especially since she was alone. Jessika was off-base with a team leading another search on Jakku, and awaiting for any sightings on the droid or Finn.

Kira had even left the light on in the room, to cancel out the darkness that she was so afraid of, but all she saw was the repeated image of Poe getting hurt, of herself being hit, again and again. Worse, she felt as if Kylo Ren's scent, his abusive touch still lingered on her, in her thoughts. She felt sick. She jumped off her bed, throwing the comforter to the ground as she threw on a pair of comfortable shorts over her underwear, and a plain shirt on top, leaving her wild curls down, not caring for her untamed appearance since where she was going, she would be in solitude.

She listened to the quiet sounds of the cold water rushing through the bank, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, focusing on the peace and serenity of her surroundings. Her heart rate had certainly come back down to a normal range as she felt herself relax in the middle of the dense forest. She was sitting on the highest rock in that area, giving her a view of all of D'Qar.

Not many people knew of this spot. Most likely because of its hard location, which required a lot of climbing, something that most people didn't like. But she used the climb and hike as a distraction, and she was now thankful for her perseverance no matter how many creepy bugs she had come across.

As she opened her eyes to stare off into the distance, it felt like everything had hit her at once.

How they were captured.

How she was force-sensitive… like her mother, and what that meant for her future.

How Kylo Ren seemed to want to use her power.

How she felt when she saw Poe being tortured in front of her very eyes.

How she thought she was going to die.

And so she let it all out. She cried, and wept, her ugly sobs no longer constricted in her chest as she released all her anguish and fear. She was so scared that being on that ship, being terrorised by Kylo Ren, that those would be her last moments. That she would die up there, in the middle of space, all alone. She rubbed furiously at her eyes, trying to stop the tears as she sat there. She had been up here for hours now, and in another two, the sun would be up and it would be a new day.

She sniffed lightly, bringing her legs up to her chest and tucking her head on top of her knees where she watched the view in front of her, trying to bring herself back. Her breathing evened out, and she no longer felt like she was going to hyperventilate, which was a good sign.

"Couldn't sleep?" A voice came from the distance, and Kira jumped up from her spot, her wide eyes softening when she saw that it was only Poe.

"You scared me," She said, looking down as she tried to avoid his gaze. She knew that he would see her red eyes and she wasn't ready to talk about her feelings just yet… or at all. She took her seat back down on the edge of the rock, this time right near the edge, dangling her feet off it.

"I can see that," Poe commented as he took the sight of her in. He hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep, and he was sure that she was the same. So he went to her room, to see her, and then he was met with an empty welcome. He then figured there was only one other place she would be, and that was here.

Now that he was here, he was unsure of what to say. His dark eyes had picked up on her skittish behaviour in an instant. He had noticed the red rimming around her eyes, the tear stained cheeks, and the tremor in her right hand. He noticed too much to keep quiet, but he did, for her sake.

He took a seat next to her, their thighs touching as he sat down, leg to leg, shoulder to shoulder. He let out a deep sigh at the contact, knowing that he wasn't in this alone. That someone else had gone through the trauma of having their mind ripped out of them… of being tortured by that monster named Kylo Ren. He noticed that her hand was still twitching the slightest, and he reached over, grasping it in his own, intertwining their fingers. He noticed the light tremor started to fade the longer he held onto her and he smiled softly.

"It still hurts, doesn't it? It's like phantom pain or something," Poe said softly, and she nodded, understanding what he was saying. He continued to rub small circles on the back of her hand, the sensation distracting her from her damaging thoughts.

"Yeah," She murmured softly, unsure of what to say. "I thought I was alright, but now that we're actually back home, I think it's just finally hit me now," Kira said, biting her lip.

"What's just hit you?" Poe asked, turning his head to look at her, noting how close they were sitting.

"The fact that we could have died up there."

"We didn't," Poe said, taking his hand and placing it on her cheek as he gazed into her eyes, his warm touch sending a fire dancing across her skin in only a way that could be described as electric.

"I know," Kira exhaled deeply, moving his hand from her cheek and holding it in her hand as she leaned her head on Poe's shoulder, revelling in the warmth and comfort that he offered.

"You're safe now." Poe's soft words eased her, and she began to relax as soon as her head touched his warm body, his scent calming her nerves.

"We're both safe now," Kira mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Soon enough she had dozed off, falling into a peaceful sleep. Poe wrapped his arm around her to give her some more support and make her feel more relaxed. He leaned his head on top of her own, stroking her hair slowly, as they both found solace in each other's company.

"I love you, Kira," Poe whispered so soft that he could barely hear the words himself. He pressed a doting kiss on her forehead, as he stayed a little while longer, watching the sun rise as she slept peacefully in her arms, not wanting to wake her up for anything.

* * *

 **A / N – Thanks for the new follows and favourites.**

 **Only about two more chapters to go before it's finished. The next two will be a bit more fast paced, but it's coming to an end soon! This was one of my favourite chapters to write. Hope that you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Keep reviewing!**

 **Replies:**

 **Mishka2184: Hope you like their developing relationship… they were practically together in every scene this chapter.**

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	7. Lover Boy?

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next day, they were thrown back into battle. HQ had received a transmission from an ally on Takodana, along with a formal message from Maz Kanata and Han Solo, stating that they had BB-8 with them on the planet, safe and sound, ready for extraction. Kira was also relieved to find out that Finn was accompanying BB-8 with a girl named Rey, an apparent a native of Jakku who had helped him escape The First Order.

Kira hadn't been able to get much more out of Leia before things escalated. Orders were being given out, Pilots were suiting up and the whole base was bustling with activity. There wasn't enough time to discuss, the specifics of it all, but Poe was flying out with his squadron to provide support, and back-up as Maz informed them that The First Order was also on its way, ready to capture the droid in an effort to gain the final piece of the map that lead to Luke Skywalker. Kira was ordered to stay on base, knowing that they would need medics to be on stand-by once the party arrived back on D'Qar. Plus, she knew that she wasn't the greatest fighter pilot out there, and if she didn't need to be in the air, then she wouldn't have a problem staying put. But there was a part of her that ached to get back into action, to enjoy the distraction, and if she had the slightest chance to destroy some TIE-fighters, and Stormtroopers of The First Order, then that would be welcomed as well.

But she politely accepted General Organa's orders, knowing that it would at least ease some of the pressure on her shoulders. Seeing as though the med-bay was quiet at this time of the morning, and pre-rescue, Kira was heading down to deliver some messages for the General.

She had just handed a data-pad to one of the leaders that was heading down with a troop transport to provide ground cover. The data-pad contained the exact location of Han Solo and his company, rather than the vague directions they had been given prior. She had waved them off, watching as Branson jumped in the transport ship as well, this time having the opportunity to work as a foot soldier rather than a pilot, since they had more than enough support from the air.

Whilst the troop transport was prepping to leave, the pilots were rushing around, gearing up and starting up their ships for the mission. Kira looked around, in all the chaos, trying to spot Poe in the midst of it all. She had seen the top of Jessika's head, but then it had ducked down underneath her X-Wing, and she lost sight of her friend. She had already wished her good luck, and given her a tight hug, making her promise to be careful on their escapades, and Jessika had just smiled and sent a wink her way, telling her that it would be all fine. Jessika also then mentioned that Kira should go and find Poe, to say goodbye…but she had done it much too suggestively, causing Kira to blush.

Kira continued to scan the room, but she still couldn't see his mass of curls, or his broad shoulders in the distance. She wondered if he had already left yet, but then shook her head at the thought. He would have said goodbye first, like he always did when he left for a mission. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out his name in the crowd, hoping that he would hear her.

"Dameron," She called out his name, just as she saw the back of his head and he turned around, giving her a heart-melting smile as he walked over, dressed in his orange jump-suit, ready to lead his squadron into battle, and rescue his friend(s).

"Be careful out there, alright," Kira said, her eyes firmly planted on his face, as though she was trying to memorise every crack and crevice of his face, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, or the way his soft lips felt upon her cheek. She knew that it was just a standard rescue mission. Get in, retrieve them, and get out. But after what had happened with their re-con on Jakku, she felt more on edge than ever.

"You do realise you're talking to the best pilot in the Resistance," Poe said, giving her a grin.

"Poe," She said, tilting her head slightly and his posture softened a bit as he brought her into his arms, holding onto her tight.

"I'll be fine, we'll be back soon," Poe tried to reassure her, taking a step back to leave. But just before he could, she moved forward in a flash, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek, causing him to turn a shade of pink as her form retreated.

"What was that for?" He asked in a surprised tone, his eyes trailed on her pink lips, like a schoolboy with a crush.

"Good luck," Kira teased with a wink, throwing his own words back at him before walking away, leaving Poe Dameron standing behind, with his mouth hanging open.

"Hey, Dameron, might want to close your mouth. You're drooling," Jessika yelled out, teasing him as she walked by, throwing her helmet on as they moved to leave, Kare joining in on the laughter as they watched their fearless leader blush from a kiss on the cheek.

"Right."

* * *

Kira's anxiety was at an all-time high, the entire time the squadron is gone. She wonders what is happening on Takodana, if Kylo Ren decided to show up, if they had found BB-8 and Finn, if there battle had been won.

She was prepping with her emergency team, making sure that they had enough supplies prepared in case the number of casualties or injured was more than previously perceived. She sat with her team, in their truck by the landing bay, standing by for any incoming emergencies. A few others, had their headsets on, listening to what was happening live from Takodana, but she knew that if she too had listened in, that her heart would burst from worrying. She wouldn't be able to focus if she heard the voices of her friends struggle in battle, knowing that as she sat there on D'Qar, as safe as a button, that she wouldn't be able to do a single thing to aid them.

She tried to distract her thoughts by staring up at the blue sky in front of her, praying for the safety of Jessika and Poe. Just as she was day-dreaming, an illuminating red beam shot through the sky, travelling across space, spreading out like a flare as it hit multiple planets. Everyone around her gasped, some screaming out in anguish, others silent in shock, stunned from what they had just witnessed. The First Order had just destroyed the entire Republic. Planets, such as Hosnian Prime were no longer. They had exploded into flames before their very eyes.

Billions of people had just been murdered, with the single shot, no doubt the work of the notorious First Order. Anger bubbled up inside Kira as she turned around to go to speak to the General. She knew that if Kylo Ren and his pathetic cause had destroyed their only allies, it wouldn't be long until they were the next target if The First Order had figured out that D'Qar was their base of operations.

Just as she turned around to head in the direction of HQ, it hit her like a bullet to her chest. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought about it a second before.

Realisation hit her, leaving her paralysed for a millisecond as she tried to get rid of the shock. She brought her hands up to her mouth as she held back a sob.

Her step-parents had a meeting on Hosnian Prime with the Republic the last time she had spoken to them. Panic swelled up in her chest as she entertained the possibility that they had burned on Hosnian Prime as the planet imploded.

"Oh." She felt positively sick, and grabbed onto the side of the truck to keep herself balanced as she felt a bout of dizziness hit her, like a wave, crashing through the surface. She picked up her pager, and answered the incoming call.

"Did you see it?" General Leia's voice came through.

"We all did. M-my step-parents, they said they would be on Hosnian-"Kira was cut off by Leia.

"They're safe. I just received a message from them, saying that they hadn't left yet. Their ship was having trouble and they were stuck in another system. They were with a group of about ten other Republic officials. They're all that's left of the Republic," General Leia said, and Kira sagged against the truck in relief, knowing that she wouldn't have been able to get through loosing anyone else.

"Oh, thank god," Kira breathed out, still trying to calm herself down. They were the last inch of family she had left, regardless of bloodline. "Thank you, for telling me." But her gut was still churning at the thought of all those lives lost, all the people that had burned and perished at the hands of the Order. She knew that no matter what happened, she would do everything in her power to help the Resistance defeat The First Order, and wipe them from existence for good. She knew there had to be balance between the force, between good and evil, but The First Order needed to be stopped.

"We've lost too many, and I fear that the fight will be brought to us soon," Leia said in a weary tone.

"Likewise."

"I also called to inform you that the red squadron will be landing soon, and the troop carrier with a few too many casualties for our liking, so be prepared. They will be dropping out of hyperspace shortly."

"We'll handle it."

And with that, Kira moved back to her truck, ordering her team to be on-stand by for the incoming causalities, determined to save every single one of them. She wasn't going to lose another life, not today.

Kira had been sent back by the leading Medical Officer of the Resistance base, to work inside as casualties were transported in. After a few hours, countless stitches, a few patients even placed into bacta tanks, she had finally completed her work. She was covered in at least four different people's blood as well as an unhealthy amount of sweat and tears, but their brilliant team had managed to treat everyone that was hurt.

She had been teamed up with Amara again, and with their skilled fingers, and fast paced work, they had gotten the job done as best as they could. It was a struggle, because they were running out of pain killers, and she had to perform eighteen stitches on one pilot's leg, with only a small dose of pain relief, that lasted about five minutes, when it was at least a twenty minute plus job. But the pilot Lopani who was filling in for another pilot they had lost the previous week, had soldiered on, and taken it without a complaint.

Kira was exhausted, and ready to hear what the General had planned. As she was rushing through patient after patient, she had overheard that Han Solo was back. She had met him once before, but hadn't spoken to him for long, and it was the second time he had been back in years. She quickly escaped to her room, jumping into the shower for a quick wash. She smelled ridiculous and she figured that since everyone else had been back for hours that they would have had a chance to freshen up. She was desperate to see if Jessika and Poe were alright. Seeing as though they hadn't turned up in the med-bay, she was relieved to know that they weren't injured, but she still desired their presence.

* * *

"Where's Kira?" Poe asked Jessika as they sat at the bar, having a drink. He had arrived back on D'Qar a few hours ago, and he hadn't seen her since. He was eager to hunt her down, but he figured that if she hadn't shown up yet, it was because she was busy working, and he didn't want to disrupt her. He distracted himself by spending a bit of time talking with Finn, and charging BB-8 up, who had been running off the same battery for the last few days, during the time he was missing.

"Heard she was busy in the med-bay. There were too many injured today," Jessika replied, taking a sip of her drink. She wasn't allowed to get too drunk, should they have to fly off into battle again, so she planned on savouring the one glass of alcohol she was permitted to consume.

"I know, I heard about Lopani. Hope the poor suckers alright," Poe said. Lopani was a good guy, and he had taken a shot that was directed at one of their other pilot that day, preventing another death in their team, and Poe admired his bravery and selflessness.

"Lopani's strong, he'll get through it," Jessika said, rubbing the side of her face with her hand. She had seen Lopani's leg as they rolled him out of there to get treated, and it was not a pretty sight. That, and she had a soft spot for him ever since he arrived on D'Qar and she hoped that he would make it through this. She wanted to be there, in the med-bay, but with the staff rushing around, and the massive intake of patients, she knew that her presence would only be bothersome. She figured that she would go and visit him once he was awake, knowing that he was now resting. She had told Amara to keep her updated with his vitals, and his condition, and she was glad to see that he was on the road to recovery.

"How's your friend, Finn?" Jessika asked, trying to break the silence as they waited for Kira.

"He's alright. I think he's just anxious to rescue his friend tomorrow. I think her name was, Rey," Poe said, taking a large gulp of the drink he had been nursing.

"Sounds like a good kid."

"He is. Saved both our asses," Kira said, announcing her presence. She had caught them both by surprise, which was easy considering that they were both facing the bar, their backs hunched over the bench on the stools that they sat on. She jumped in the middle of the two, wrapping one arm around each and pulling them closer into a group hug.

"Thank the heavens that you two are alright," Kira praised with a smile.

"That was a walk in the park compared to what we have going for us tomorrow," Jessika said, finishing the rest of her drink off with one hit.

"Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?" Kira asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Jessika and Poe.

Poe had a sour look on his face, directed towards Jessika. Kira hadn't been to the meeting, and therefore she didn't know that tomorrow, their entire squadron would be flying into the clutches of death as they planned to attack The First Order base.

"Oops," Jessika said as she took notice of Poe's expression. "I'll let you explain that one, _lover boy_ ," Jessika mumbled before leaving the bar, and a confused Kira behind.

"First things first, what is happening tomorrow?" Kira asked, trying not to focus too much on Jessika's _Lover Boy_ comment. That would be her second question.

"There's a planned attack on the StarKiller Base. After they pretty much obliterated the Republic, we know that we have to attack first, otherwise we'll be next. That and Finn wants to go save his friend, Rey," Poe explained. Kira had to take a seat, unable to take in the information. They were flying back into danger, yet again, but this time. It was on the enemies' turf.

"Is it even possible? How will you get through their shields? Did anyone think about the fact that they out number and out gun us in every possible way?" Kira's strained voice asked, as she questioned Poe. It was a suicide mission, and two of the people she cared about the most, were heading straight into it, like it was nothing. She knew that they were in a war, but it was still hard.

"Yes, everything's been organised and the logistics worked out. We're gonna do this, we're gonna take them down."

Kira was silent for a moment as she took Poe's words in, glancing back up at him when she noticed him staring at her. She wanted to shy away and avoid his gaze, but she knew that she couldn't, not now, and certainly not forever.

"What did Jessika mean?"

"Some clarification would be nice," Poe teased.

"When she said, _lover boy,"_ Kira said, emphasis on the last word, her eyes glued on his expression.

"Oh, that," Poe said nonchalantly, trying to keep his tone steady.

"Yeah."

"It's nothing," He said, his tongue burning as he spoke even more lies. "It's just a crappy inside joke."

"Oh," She exhaled, feeling her heart drop in her chest. She immediately regretted having brought it up in the first place.

"Well, I better head back to my room. We leave early tomorrow morning. I need to go through the flight plans before I get some rest," Poe said, giving her a smile. "Goodnight." He placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before he walked out of the room, his heart clenching in his chest, and his mind not forgiving him for not telling her the truth. But he was worried that if he told her now, if he told her how he felt, that tomorrow, something would happen and he wouldn't come back, and he of all people didn't want to put her through that pain of losing someone else that she cared about… not again.

"Night, Poe."

* * *

Kira was sitting in the middle of the common room that night, going over some patient notes, making sure to keep her documentation up to date. Most of the patients were recovering quite well, but there were some that needed at least two weeks to a month of bed rest, and no work, otherwise they wouldn't heal properly.

She was surprised to be greeted by General Leia walking through the halls, stopping by for a quick chat.

"I can sense that something's awakened in you. It's been stronger since you returned back from Jakku," Leia said, in a soft tone, as she sat across from Kira, both of them with a warm cup of tea in hand.

"I knew that my mother was force-sensitive, but in all my life, I had never experienced a feeling like this before."

"It's different with each person. Some are more sensitive to it than others."

"What does this mean for me?" Kira asked. She wasn't sure of the implications of the power. She knew that those with the force mostly pursued the art, training as Jedi Knights, but these days, they were running scarcely low in those more learned in that area.

"Nothing, unless you want it to," Leia said. "I never trained to be a Jedi, but the force is still strong within me. It's a unique gift," The older lady mused, and as Kira listened to her tales, and her wisdom, she could see how aged and experienced Leia really was.

"I'm scared," Kira admitted, telling Leia of what really happened up there.

"Don't dwell on it now, once we find Luke, things will be easier. Just focus on your job for now. You're doing an amazing job," Leia advised and Kira nodded, taking a sip of the warm drink, the hot liquid, soothing her throat. "Your mother would have been proud," Leia finished, surprising Kira more than anything. She felt her heart swell in her chest, and her throat felt stuffy at the thought of her mother, wishing she could have known her better.

"Thank you."

"Go get some rest. You'll need it."

"Only if you promise to as well, General," Kira said, even though she knew that when she returned to her room, all she would be able to do was think of what had transpired that night between herself and Poe, and the war that was to continue the following day, not even having the power to join the pilots herself, leaving her helplessly stranded on D'Qar to await the consequences of their plan to survive.

"Oh, I plan on it," Leia cracked a smile before the two moved their separate ways, hoping that the day coming would bring them ease, and peace, not knowing the pain that was to come.

* * *

 **A / N – This chapter was more angst than anything… but I had to… considering the amount of fluff that last chapter contained. ;) Got to have balance… get it. :P**

 **ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO! Review away, the more reviews, the faster you get the last chapter! Special thanks to Sarahmichellegellarfan1 for the review last chapter, you're a doll. ;)**

 **Love you guys, thank you for all the support.**

 **Heroherondale.**


	8. Finale

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kira was walking the halls the next morning, unsure of what to do with herself. She had spoken to General Leia at her earliest convenience, asking her if there was anything that she could possibly do to help with the fight tomorrow. But alas, the only Resistance fighters heading out tomorrow would be blue and red squadron fighter pilots, led by Poe.

Hearing his name, sent a pang through her chest. She hadn't seen him since last night, and she was beginning to worry that she had said something wrong, over stepped some sort of boundary, and she didn't know how to fix it. She wanted to see him before he left on his suicide mission, knowing that if she didn't and something happened, she would regret it. But then she thought that if he really wanted to see her, he would seek her out. She groaned, running her fingers through her hair, frustrated at the sticky situation she had gotten herself into, and all because she had over-heard something stupid that Jessika uttered from her mouth.

She was about to move into her room once again when she spotted BB-8 tumbling down the hall at a fast speed.

"Is something wrong BB-8?" Kira asked, kneeling down to the height of the droid as it bumped into her legs, sort of nudging her in the opposite direction of her room. The astromech beeped, telling her that Poe needed her help, and fast. The droids words panicked her and she moved down the hall, exceeding BB-8's speed as she ran to see what was wrong. She didn't even bother to knock on Poe's door, and she found him sitting at the edge of his bed, his head buried into his hands.

Poe looked up at the sound of his door opening, the heavy footsteps down the hall coming to a stop as Kira stood in front of him breathless.

"Poe, is everything alright? BB-8 said that you needed help," Kira said, unsure of what was going on. But the longer she stood there, and the longer she noticed that Poe seemed to be fine on the outside, the more embarrassed she felt for her abrupt entry.

"I-I, uh," Poe stuttered, unsure of what to say. He had specifically told BB-8 not to actively seek out Kira when the droid had suggested it, but knowing his astromech, he had gone and done the opposite of what he had said. He had to leave in an hour, and he was still debating whether or not to say goodbye to Kira before he left. Though he had all the optimism in the world, he knew that there was a chance that this wouldn't work out. That they wouldn't pull through like they always did.

But now that she was standing before him, all those thoughts and worries had flown away. Seeing her was like a breath of fresh air. He stood up, and walked up to her, and her eyes were looking at him with confusion.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, there's just something I need to tell you. That's why BB-8 called," Poe said. He was going to tell her. _Just do it._

"Go on," Kira said with a small smile, urging him to continue.

"I-Uh, I just don't know how to say it," Poe said, suddenly, scared of how she was going to react. "It's something that's…bothered me for a while now."

"What is it about?" Kira asked and Poe took a deep breath before stepping forward, blurting the words from his heart.

"The fact that I'm in love with you," Poe delivered in one swift line, surprising both himself and Kira. She was silent for at least ten seconds, and it seemed to drag on forever.

"Well, I don't think you had trouble with the delivery," Kira said, her face stunned from what he had just said. He stepped forward, placing a hand on her waist, and the other on her cheek, caressing her face.

"I just told you, that I loved you, and that's the first thing you say?" Poe grinned, his eyes twinkling in the light.

"I'm just in shock," Kira replied, unconsciously leaning her body towards him. "Yeah, shock."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Poe asked, leaning in closer, their noses brushing against each other, sending a shiver down her spine at the anticipation. Her eyes were locked on his lips, and he smiled as he noticed this.

"Definitely a good thing."

Poe took the initiative, inclining his head forward, his mouth slanting over her own as he captured her lips in a searing kiss. Their lips moved against each other in a flurry of passion. His hands were on her waist, pulling her closer. Hers were intertwined in his curly hair, and for the first time in a long time, they both felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off their shoulders.

"By the way, I'm kind of in love with you as well," Kira admitted with a flushed face as they moved apart. She was so close to Poe that she couldn't tell if was her heart pounding or his that she could hear in her ears, though she was sure that it was probably her own.

"Kind of?" Poe asked with a raised brow.

"A bit more than that," Kira said, pressing her lips to his again.

"I'm sorry for leaving last night, I was just-," He started and she cut him off.

"Scared. That's how I feel right now. I don't want to let you leave, knowing that there's a chance you might not come back." The pad of his thumb ran over her cheeks in a soft motion, his caress calming her down as she leaned further into his touch.

"I'm the best pilot in the resistance," Poe announced with a smirk, as though she had never heard that line before. He wasn't going to lose her now that he had just gotten her. He was going to fly in there, complete his mission, and fly out.

"I know," She said, rolling her eyes.

"But that's not the only reason. I have you to come back to," Poe said, moving forward and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead before leaning his against hers, gazing into her beautiful eyes.

"You better."

"I promise, and you know how I always keep my promises."

* * *

Kira had seen Poe off, watching from the hanger as he flew off with his squadron into the sky, and out of D'Qar's atmosphere. It was all happening now, and she felt anxious. She had also managed to see Finn before he left with Han and Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon. Finn had brought her into a tight hug and she had laughed, reciprocating the embrace.

She told him to be careful, and to make sure that he got his friend. But she had also reminded him that he had better come back in one piece, she wasn't ready to lose another friend. He gave her a smile before waving goodbye as he stepped into the Millennium Falcon, their ship flying up, higher and higher before it was just a dot in the sky.

She had seen the mission outline, briefly and just by glancing over the plans she knew that it was next level risky. The pilots were leaving everything to Finn, Han and Chewbacca, needing them to disable the planets outer shields before they would even be able to fly within range. If they weren't able to complete that task, then the whole mission would fail.

Kira shook her head, trying not to think of those thoughts as he sat in her room, laying on her bed. There was nothing that she could do at the moment, and she was feeling utterly useless. She had turned over on her bed, looking at the empty one next to her. She prayed that Jessika and Poe would be safe, and just as she was drifting off in her day dream, she felt something, like a punch to her chest. She wasn't sure how to describe the feeling, only that it felt similar to when she was a prisoner in Kylo Ren's hands. She wondered if this was the force, if this was what she was feeling. Before she had any time to think about it, B1-89 came rolling in through her open door, announcing that General Leia needed to see her urgently.

Leia had been sitting in the main office with C3-PO, once again, nervously looking over the plans. She had full belief that her fighters would get through this, just as they always did. Her nerves were more for her husband, Han. She had told him to bring their son back, to bring him home. She was worried that he wouldn't be able to do it, or that something bad would happen.

And she was right to worry. Because not a moment later, she had felt it. She felt it in the force, the unbalance, the fear, the pain, the anguish.

She just knew it. She knew that Han was gone, and it shattered her heart.

"Princess- General Leia, are you alright?" C3-PO asked, looking down at Leia who had slumped in her chair, hanging onto the side.

"I'm not sure," Leia whispered out. C3-PO saw B1-89 rolling by and sent the droid to call Kira immediately, to see to Leia who seemed to be in pain.

"Help is on the way, General Leia, do not worry."

Kira walked over to General Leia, noticing that her pallor had changed. Her face seemed to be drained of all colour, and even though she was sitting straight, leaning against the chair, her hands seemed to be shaking.

"General, what's wrong?" Kira asked, kneeling before her, inspecting her face for any sign of fatigue, or illness. Leia stood up, her stance unbalanced and fragile, as she kept one hand on the chair to support herself.

"Did you feel it?" Leia asked, her gaze now meeting Kira's. She had known that Kira was force-sensitive since the day she met her. She could feel the force within Kira's soul, just as it travelled within her own.

"The force," Kira whispered as Leia nodded. "I felt it. What does it mean?" Kira asked with earnest. Leia didn't reply for a moment, just taking Kira's hands in her own.

"Han is gone. My husband, he's gone," Leia said softly, Kira's eyes widening at her words.

"What do you mean he's gone? How could you possibly know that?" Kira asked.

"I felt it," Leia said simply.

"Leia," Kira's voice was gentle, and it made the reality of her own words come crashing down. Leia's eyes teared up as she realised the truth. Her husband was gone, and this time, he wasn't coming back.

"He's gone."

'I'm so sorry Leia," Kira brought her into a hug, and Leia held onto her tight, suppressing her tears. Leia moved back after a few minutes, wiping her eyes lightly.

"There will be time to mourn later, we need to see if they were able to complete the mission," Leia said in her General voice. Kira nodded, looking at her with solemn eyes. General Leia was the strongest person she knew.

* * *

They had watched on their monitors, as well as heard through the comm.'s that Chewbacca and Han had managed to set explosives on inside of the base. Black leader aka, Poe Dameron had then flown his red squadron into the heart of the weapon, firing away, setting the explosions off, and effectively, blowing up the base with the help of his team.

Cheers of victory and sighs of relief went all round as everyone celebrated their success in taking down StarKiller Base. Kira was just waiting for her friends to arrive back, wanting to see them safe in her arms now that she had both felt and heard the news of Han's passing.

She was waiting outside, the wind whipping through her hair as she waited for Poe to arrive. Jessika had just landed a few moments before, running into her arms, a wide grin all over her face.

"We did it, Kira!"

"I know, I'm so proud of you!" Kira exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

"I'm gonna head down to meet Lopani, the poor suckers been waiting for someone to clue him in," Jessika said, throwing Kira a wink as she walked backwards.

"He won't know what hit him," Kira joked and Jessika let out a roar of laughter as she changed from a jog into a full sprint, heading down to meet Lopani.

Kira let out a loud sigh as she watched Jessika walk away, and a moment later she heard a familiar voice.

"What's with the sigh, Miss? Considering we were victorious, you think you'd be a bit more cheerful," Poe's voice came up from behind her. She turned around in a flash, and ran into his arms, the force nearly winding him.

"Woah, easy there," Poe laughed, looking down at Kira, who didn't waste a second in pressing her lips against his own, sighing in relief that he was there in front of her, safe and sound.

"God, I'm so glad that you're alright," Kira whispered against his lips, capturing them once more without complaint or hesitation from Poe.

"Mmm," Poe hummed, slightly dazed from her kiss. "If that's the way you greet me every time I leave, I think I'll have to start disappearing more often," Poe teased and Kira fought off a smile as she smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Come on," Kira said, tugging Poe's hands as she walked back into base.

"Where are you so eager to get to?" Poe asked, falling in tow with her, their fingers intertwined.

"Back to your room," Kira threw back at him with a suggestive wink, and it was in that moment that Poe Dameron knew that he would never regret a single thing when it came to Kira Marsden.

And there, the story of Kira Marsden and Poe Dameron began, unsure of what awaited them in the future, but knowing that whatever it was, they would face it together.

 **A / N – It's finished!**

 **Only a short story, with 8 chapters, but it's done.**

 **Hope that you all enjoyed it. Sorry that I was a tease and left the kiss til the last chapter, but I wanted to build Kira up as a character, her friendships, and the relationship between her and Poe, as well.**

 **Please leave a review, I would love to hear what you thought of this story, it would mean the world.**

 **It was just meant to be a light romance with a hint of drama and mystery. If I had more time I would have developed the plot way more, and taken this in a totally different direction, but alas, I am working and studying full time, so that's a bit hard. Hope that you all enjoyed it!**

 **Heroherondale.**


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